Prepare For Complications
by huddysmyvicodin
Summary: House and Cuddy have Emma, so now what? Sequel to "Our Favorite Mistake". Huddy!
1. I'm Back!

**A/N: Hello again, my faithful readers. Sorry this hasn't been uploaded sooner; stupid school gets in my way. Just a small warning, I am taking classes that require my full attention some days, so I might not update as frequently as you like. My sincerest apologies, but kick back and enjoy the first chapter of **_**Prepare for Complications**_**!**

**Chapter One- I'm Back**

"Welcome back, House," Wilson says as he greets House in the lobby of PPTH. House grunts, and keeps on limping towards the elevator. "Aw, did daddy not get any sleep last night?" House scowls and turns around to smack Wilson in the leg with his cane.

"Aw, is the big time oncologist in pain?" House turns around to press the elevator button. The elevator doors open and House gets on with Wilson in tow.

"What are you complaining about? Cuddy gave you 2 months off for paternity leave, that's not even a real thing."

"Sleeping with the boss does have it advantages; we talk about clinic hours after we have sex. You wouldn't believe how many hours I get away with!" Wilson rolls his eyes as the elevator arrives on their floor.

"So how is my favorite goddaughter?" House rolled his eyes; if he knew Wilson was going to be such a woman about it he never would have named him Emma's godfather.

"Wilson, you are such a middle aged woman. My two month old spawn does the same thing every day; eat, cry, poop and sleep. See you at lunch Wilson." Wilson nodded and House stepped into his own office.

"Good morning my minions, daddy's back!" Chase, Taub, Foreman and Thirteen all looked up at them with tiny smiles on their faces. "You guys are so happy to see me; did you find any interesting cases as a welcome back present?"

"No, Cuddy didn't tell us you were coming back today so we didn't bother to look," Taub said. House furrows his eyebrows in confusion.

"Cuddy didn't tell you? I thought she would want you guys to plan a surprise welcome back party for me." Foreman scoffs,

"House, you didn't get shot or anything, you just bribed Cuddy to give you two months off for some made up reason."

"Made up reason? Paternity leave is the time for me to bond with my new sprog and get some around the clock Cuddy lovin'. Speaking of which, it's time for my bondage session with a certain Dean of Medicine, feel free to come and join us." House left his office, traveled down to Cuddy's office and barged through her office door without so much as a glance towards Kim, Wilson's girlfriend of three months.

"Good morning Breasty McAss." Cuddy glanced up from her paperwork and handed House a patient file.

"And good morning to you too, Drunken McBastard. 25 year old female presenting with seizures ER ruled out all likely causes."

"That's what the ER always says; I think they are just too damn lazy to do their job."

"Wow, that sounds like someone I know, I just can't place it…Wilson maybe?" House smirked; he was starting to rub off on Cuddy.

"Touché, since you wore my favorite shirt today, I will take the case." Cuddy rolled her eyes, and left Cuddy's office returning to his own office.

"Twenty five year old female with seizures," House spoke to his team as he walked into his office and dropped the pile of charts on the table. The team each grabbed a folder and perused the file.

"Could be alcohol withdrawal," Chase suggested.

"No, urine sample was clean, what about a medication reaction?" Foreman asked, Thirteen leaned into Foreman to look at the chart which didn't go unnoticed by House.

"Good, Foreman and bisexual go check the patient's home and Taub run blood cultures for brain infections. I'm taking my lunch early." House walked down to the cafeteria and snuck behind Wilson to grab his chips.

"Damn, I thought I could finally eat a meal without you trying to steal something." House smirked and sat down with Wilson in a booth.

"I follow the Wilson scent of loneliness and I have some juicy gossip for you to sink your teeth into." House watched Wilson's face light up with the potential of having PPTH's new story.

"Foreman and Thirteen have finally shacked up." Wilson's jaw dropped and his mind ran through possible scenarios on how to break the news.

"Before I spread this information around, what clued you in?"

"First, we were going over potential diagnoses and Thirteen leaned into Foreman to look over the patient history when she could've picked up her own folder. Second, when I made them search the patient's home neither one of them objected or tried to swap tasks, they just did it." A look of disappointment flashed across Wilson's face.

"That's all the proof you have? Maybe Foreman and Thirteen didn't argue with you because you were in a good mood. Or unlike you, they actually listen to authoritative figures instead of bargain and argue with them." House grabbed his chest in mock hurt,

"Wilson, are you crazy, when have I ever been wrong about something? Plus, Foreman has always argued with me before, why stop now?" Wilson shrugged, House did have a point, and Foreman has always been the one to put a stop to House's madness. _That's probably why House has kept him around for so long; he uses Foreman as the voice of reason on the team. _Wilson thought to himself.

"So how are you and Kate?" Wilson nearly spit out his drink, sure House got the name wrong but, when has he ever asked about his relationships?

"We…"

"Great," House cut in, "sorry to cut this gossip session short, but I have to go pretend to do my clinic hours now, wouldn't want the boss to get pissed off."

"Since when do you care about irritating Cuddy?" House rolled his eyes,

"Since she became the person I have sex with. It's simple, keep the boss happy and someone gets happy later on." House said in a "duh" tone, and left for the clinic.

Around five pm that day, House walked down to Cuddy's office relishing in the fact that he just solved his latest case. _Chagas disease, who would have thought of that, ME!_ House gleefully thought to himself. House did a half nod to Kim and walked into Cuddy's office.

"You ready to go home early and cut the evil spawn watcher loose?" Cuddy scowled,

"Marina is a great nanny, plus she has only been watching Emma for one day, you can't possibly know she's evil."

"Whatever, you ready to go?" Cuddy nodded and walked out with House guiding her by his hand on the small of her back.

Ten minutes later Cuddy and House arrived at their home and relieved the nanny.

"Hey sweetie did you miss me?" Cuddy cooed to Emma who gurgled in response. House grabbed Emma to change her and Cuddy started dinner. From the nursery, House heard a knock on the door.

"LISA CAN YOU GET THAT, THE SPAWN LEFT A HUGE SURPRISE FOR ME!" House yelled from inside the nursery. Cuddy smirked at the sudden shift in their relationship now that they are home with their daughter.

"YEAH GREG I GOT IT" Cuddy yelled, and went to open the door, shocked to see who was at the other end.

**A/N 2: Sorry for the lame cliffhanger, I didn't know how to end this chapter. Please read and review with your comments, concerns, etc. Reviews equal new chapters with faster updates people! **


	2. A War of Words

**A/N: Welcome back to my story, hope you read, reviewed and enjoyed the first chapter. Small mention of child abuse here and I would like to point out that I don't own House nor will I benefit economically from this story. Without further ado, chapter two!**

**Chapter Two- A War of Words**

_"YEAH GREG I GOT IT" Cuddy yelled, and went to open the door, shocked to see who was at the other end. _"Hi Mr. and Mrs. House, what a pleasant surprise," Cuddy opened the door fully to let House's parents inside. John and Blythe House stepped inside Cuddy's home with their luggage in tow.

"This is where Gregory lives correct?" Blythe asked Cuddy. Cuddy nodded,

"GREG, COME OUT HERE, I HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU!" Cuddy yelled. From the nursery, House just finished changing Emma when he heard Cuddy call.

"What could your mom possibly be screaming about now kid?" House asked Emma. House picked up Emma and began the trek to the living room.

"Cuddy, don't tell me you're naked or…" House abruptly stopped as he made eye contact with his father.

"Son, that is no way to talk to a woman," John ordered. Blythe dropped her luggage and ran to House, demanding to hold her grandchild.

"Honey, can I see you in the kitchen for a second?" House asked. Cuddy looked at him as if he was growing a second head. Sure they called each other by their first names now, but House didn't do terms of endearment. Cuddy silently nodded and followed House into their kitchen. As soon as they stepped in the kitchen House's fake happy look melted into a cold, analytical stare.

"I get your pissed that I haven't been doing my clinic duty recently, but did you have to go so far as to call my parents?" House hissed.

"I didn't call them; I was just as shocked as you were to see them on our front porch. Why don't you be nice and ask them why they are here?" House scoffed,

"Look _Cuddy_," Cuddy flinched at the sudden name change, "if I ask them why they came, my mother will get all teary-eyed and assume that I didn't want her to see the kid. My father will get pissed at me and yell for disrespecting my mom, do you really want that on your shoulders? I didn't think so; all we have to do is pretend that we are the perfect little family for however long they are here, okay?" Cuddy nods, and walks past House to check on the dinner. Seeing that the dinner is done, Cuddy brings it to the dining room, tells House to put Emma in her swing and get his parents to the table.

After everyone is seated and food is on their plates an awkward silence washes over the room.

"We are so sorry dear we didn't call, John is meeting an old marine buddy of his in Newark tomorrow and we thought we should stop by for a visit." Blythe said, trying to break the ice.

"That's fine mom, how long are you guys planning on staying?" House asked, afraid to hear his mothers answer.

"Just tonight and hopefully tomorrow if you guys don't mind," Blythe said. House looked to Cuddy who nodded. "So how's my favorite grandchild been?"

"Emma's been great, she's developing normally even though she was a month premature." Cuddy looked at a now sleeping Emma with love.

"How are you handling her, Greg?" John bluntly asked. Blythe and House's eyes grew wide while Cuddy stared at John with a confused look on her face. _This is how all the fights started_ House thought to himself.

"What do you mean, Mr. House?" _Damn you Cuddy, why did you have to instigate him? _House glared at Cuddy and Blythe mentally prepared for the hurt look she was about to see in her son's eyes.

"I'm simply wondering how Greg can handle a two month old with his gimp leg." Cuddy looked at House in shock, but was surprised to see a stoic House staring back at her. _He's used to this verbal abuse by his father. Idiot! What the hell did you just do? _Cuddy mentally berated herself.

"What are you going to do when she's older Greg? She's going to be walking soon, what if she climbs on a high table and jumps down? You will be powerless to stop her with that useless limb you have. Lisa is going to have to basically run after her while you sit on your ass."

"John! That is enough!" Blythe hissed at her husband, mindful of the sleeping baby. John stopped ranting, but made no move to apologize. Cuddy was still reeling from what John said, but House had heard enough. He stood up from the chair, grabbed his cane and exaggerated his limp while heading to the bedroom. Cuddy flinched when she heard the door slam.

"Greg is a great father, how dare you tell him otherwise!" Cuddy said and got up to check on House. Back at the table a very angry Blythe turned to John.

"John why do you always have to instigate Greg, he and Lisa have a wonderful daughter and are doing just fine."

"I just need to reinforce how lucky he has it."

"By picking on his disability and insulting him in front of his daughter?" John nodded and Blythe realized it made sense in John's mind. He is trying to make House improve his leg so he can enjoy life with Emma and Lisa.

"Well, I hope you know that even if you don't mean it you should apologize because I plan on seeing my grandchild more often and I would like you to see her too." Blythe said and began clearing the table, leaving John alone to stare at a sleeping Emma.

Meanwhile, in their bedroom Cuddy and House are in the midst of an intense conversation.

"Why does your father rag on you every chance he gets? What happened between you two?" Cuddy was pacing back and forth muttering random questions to House.

"Lisa, I don't want to talk about it tonight okay? Can we go get Emma and go to bed?" House reached out to grab Cuddy's hand and pulled her into his arms.

"Greg, I just want to know what made him so bitter towards you. Can you please help me?" Cuddy knew she pushed him too far, she could literally see House's barriers come down. House dropped his hold around Cuddy and stared at her with icy blue eyes.

"_Cuddy_, whatever you think you know you don't. You finally met a bigger ass than me, congratulations. I'm going to bed so either join me or get out." Cuddy sighed and went to grab Emma from her swing, happy to see John gone. Cuddy half-smiled at Blythe and scooped up Emma, retreating into her bedroom. By the time she got Emma, fed, changed and settled down in the bassinet House was fast asleep with a pained look on his face.

_Ten year old Gregory House came into the kitchen after being called by his father several times. Greg heard his dad, but was too caught up in his book to come to the table._

_ "Where have you been boy?" John House said to his son._

_ "I was reading a book." Greg answered timidly._

_ "You know what would happen in the marines if someone disobeyed an officer?" _

_ "No," Greg whispered, to afraid to speak up._

_ "No, what?" John asked menacingly. _

_ "No sir!" Greg said louder._

_ "Good, you aren't totally useless. In the marines, you were hit." John towered over his son and grabbed his son's arm, holding it tight. "I'm not going to hit you this time, because your mom will ask questions. But, I am going to make you eat every last bite of your meal. You are not allowed to leave this table until every crumb is licked off your plate understood?"_

_ "Sir, yes sir!" John released his death grip on Greg's arm, leaving a deep purple bruise, and led him to the table. John grabbed Greg's shoulders and plopped his down in a chair. Greg grabbed his utensils and quickly shoved his food in his mouth. "Son, what do you tell your mother when she asks where you got that bruise?" Greg swallowed the last bite of his food and said,_

_ "I ran into a door, can I be excused sir?" John picked up the plate and inspected it._

_ "Yes, cadet, now get out of my sight you useless piece of shit."_

House woke up in a cold sweat; he could feel his pulse beating rapidly in his ears. He looked over at Cuddy and Emma who were thankfully asleep, and then he looked at the clock which read **1:28 AM. **_I need a drink_ House thought to himself and got out of bed to get dressed. Cuddy stirred at the sound of House's motorcycle speeding out of the driveway.

"Please Greg, don't do anything stupid." Cuddy whispered in the moonlight and rolled over to go back to sleep.

**A/N: Longest chapter ever! Sorry for the lack of updating, I wanted to get this chapter perfect before I published it. Please read and review as you will be graciously awarded with longer and faster updated chapters. **


	3. Pick Your Poison

**A/N: Thanks for all your kind reviews, as promised I will update this chapter much faster than the last one. If anyone is ever has any ideas, doesn't like something about the story or wants their name included as a character, please don't hesitate to include it in your review or private message me. Enjoy chapter three!**

**Chapter Three- Pick Your Poison**

The high-pitched ring of the phone cut through the silence of Lisa Cuddy's bedroom. Cuddy rolled over and cursed whoever was calling her at four in the morning.

"Hello?" Cuddy groggily answered.

"Cuddy? Is that you?" Wilson sounded nervous on the other end of the line.

"Yes, Wilson it's me and it's also four in the morning. Can I help you?"

"I have a very drunk House with me, what do you want me to do with him?" Cuddy felt anger build up inside her. How dare he leave her and Emma to go get drunk? Wilson heard Cuddy breathe heavily into the phone and thanked god he wasn't House right now.

"Just bring him back here, I'll deal with him," Cuddy said in a threatening voice. Wilson winced, and shot a look to his passed out best friend.

"Okay, see you in about ten minutes," Wilson said and hung up the phone. Cuddy slowly got out of bed and went into the living room to look for House. Ten minutes later Cuddy saw Wilsons silver Volvo pull into their driveway. Cuddy grabbed a coat from the closet and ran outside to help Wilson drag House in. Wilson looked surprised to see her, but came around and opened House's door anyway.

Cuddy's heart broke when she saw a passed out House in the front seat, but knew she had to put on a brave face for Wilson. Wilson grabbed one arm and motioned Cuddy to grab the other as they lifted House up carefully. House jolted awake when he was slowly lifted into Wilson and Cuddy's arm.

"Hey, Cuddy I didn't know you came to the bar too!" House drunkenly slurred as the trio made their way to the door. Cuddy didn't say a word and just focused on getting House safely inside.

"Fine, you are no fun Cuddy; you need to loosen up a bit." House said. Wilson chuckled quietly to himself while Cuddy let go off House and opened the door. She rejoined House, swinging his arm onto her shoulder and continued to walk inside, finally collapsing on the couch.

"Thanks for all your help Wilson, I'll take it from here," Cuddy said while keeping her eyes on House.

"It's no problem Cuddy; I'm used to doing this." Wilson said softly and left without another word. Cuddy then helped House into their bedroom, quickly and quietly so they wouldn't disturb Emma or House's parents. Once House was situated on the bed, Cuddy disappeared into the master bathroom only to come back with a trash can, which she placed on House's side of the bed.

"Take off your clothes," Cuddy commanded, not in the mood for games anymore. House drunkenly began to fumble with the buttons on his shirt. Cuddy had to admit, it was pretty amusing to see House struggle unbuttoning his clothes, but the need for sleep overpowered her.

"Let me do it," Cuddy snapped, and yanked House's hands out of the way, replacing them with her own.

"You just want to see me naked," House said as Cuddy threw his shirt to the side and began working on his pants. Once Cuddy got House's pants off she gathered the clothes, threw them in the hamper, turned off the light and joined a fast asleep House in bed.

House woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. Rolling over, House started panicking when he saw the other side of the bed vacant. House relaxed when he heard Cuddy's heels click around the kitchen. Reaching over to the night stand, House dry swallowed a Vicodin and limped out into the kitchen. Blythe was giving Emma a bottle while John was reading a newspaper. House poured himself a cup of coffee and went to give Cuddy a kiss. Cuddy noticeably moved her face so House would kiss her cheek, a silent refusal to let him off the hook for last night.

"I'm leaving for work and Greg _should _be in before noon, do you want me to get the babysitter?"

"John and I can handle her for a couple hours, right John?" John merely grunted in response, Cuddy grabbed her briefcase and walked out the door.

"What did you do to piss her off?" John said after he heard the front door slam.

"I have no idea, but something tells me that I should be on time for once today." House said and took Emma from his mother to burp.

"Your mother and I are leaving after dinner, try not to screw anything else up before then." House nodded and returned Emma to his mother.

House strolled into work at eleven, making a beeline for the elevator, trying to avoid everyone's surprised stares. Arriving on the fourth floor, House barreled into Wilson's office and sat down on his self-proclaimed chair. Wilson checked his watch, looked at House in shock, and looked down at his watch again.

"Why are you here so early?" Wilson said.

"Cuddy's mad at me for some reason and I want to get back on her good side. Normally, I love pissing her off, but she tends to withhold sex when I do that so…"

"House, Cuddy's mad at you for getting drunk last night." House rolled his eyes.

"That's all? Wilson I'm me, as fabulous as I am, drinking too much is one of my few flaws."

"House, you left Cuddy and your daughter at home while you went to a bar and got wasted. I could see how Cuddy would get a little upset. Besides, how did you find out Cuddy was mad at you anyways?"

"I went to kiss her this morning in front of my parents and she moved her face so I would only get her cheek. Cuddy knows how much I wanted to put on a good show for my parents so she must have been really pissed for her to diss me like that in front of them."

"Okay, so go and apologize for being an ass." House shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Cuddy is giving me the silent treatment, besides I got a better idea."

**A/N 2: Sorry to leave you at a cliffhanger, but it would be better if I broke this up into two parts. On the bright side, I have it all planned out so, you will get a faster update. All you have to do is review, and chapter four will magically appear!**


	4. Reverse Houseology

**A/N: Thanks for all your kind reviews, I promise faster updates. Enjoy chapter four!**

**Chapter Four- Reverse Houseology**

_"Okay, so go and apologize for being an ass." House shook his head._

_ "Why not?"_

_ "Cuddy is giving me the silent treatment, besides I got a better idea."_

"What's the idea, House?" Wilson knew he shouldn't get involved, but his lust for gossip overwhelmed him.

"Wilson, if I tell you my magnificent idea you will go run and tell Cuddy which will only get her more pissed off at me." _Damn, House does have a point_ Wilson thought to himself.

"Look Wilson, if you really want to help me, just tell me when the board meeting is today."

"It's at one, why?" House's face transformed into a smug smile right before Wilson's eyes, unfortunately for Wilson, House's pager interrupted their conversation.

"Oh darn, it looks like my patient needs me, got to go Wilson, some people actually have to do the work around here." House said and left. Stepping into his own office, he was immediately handed the patient's chart and a marker for the whiteboard.

"What's new, minions?" House asked, fully into puzzle mode.

"The patient started vomiting blood," Thirteen informed him, referring to House's current case, Jane Richards, a twenty five year old aspiring chef who collapsed during cooking class. House turned to the white board and added bloody vomit underneath itching and respiratory distress.

"So what does that tell us about the patient?" House asked his ducklings.

"Jane is suffering from liver failure; we should start looking for a new liver, and do a biopsy to see how far gone the liver is." Foreman said.

"Okay, Steve Irwin and Weeman go search the patients home, Ellen and Tupac do the biopsy." House sighed when the team tilted their heads in confusion. House pretended to wipe a tear, "seriously, after all this time, I have to explain my insults to you people? Fine, Chase and Taub search Jill's or whatever's home, Thirteen and Foreman do the biopsy." The team nodded and filed out of the conference room. House collapsed into his favorite Eames chair and looked at his watch. _Damn it's only 11:30, mind as well take a nap._ House thought himself and closed his eyes.

At about one o clock Foreman came bursting into House's office only to find him fast asleep.

"House wake up," Foreman said and kicked House's chair. House flinched and rubbed his eyes.

"Why Doctor Foreman what can I do for you this fine afternoon?" House sarcastically said.

"The liver is almost completely gone, and we found what appears to be a granuloma in there. We started her on any medication we could think of to prevent the liver from failing totally." House nodded.

"What time is it?" House asked. Foreman shot House a confused look, but gazed at his watch anyway.

"It's about one 'o clock, why?" House didn't say a word, just grabbed his cane and quickly limped out of the room. House got on the elevator and headed to the second floor, where he knew Cuddy and Wilson were having there board meeting. Stepping off the elevator, House limped down the hallway and stopped just outside of the conference room. House could see through the glass walls that Wilson and Cuddy were in the middle of an intense conversation with two old donors. _Perfect, time to make your move, _House thought to himself and stepped inside.

"Doctor Cuddy, have you completely forgotten to get your hormone injections, wouldn't want you to turn into a man again." House said as he walked through the door. House smirked as he saw Cuddy's face go incandescent with rage and Wilson along with the two donors go wide-eyed with shock. Cuddy stood up, grabbed House by the shirt and slammed the door behind her. Inside the conference room, Wilson shook his head and calmly explained to the donors House was just playing a prank on Cuddy all the while praying for his best friend's life. Outside the conference room, Cuddy dragged House away from the conference room and into a deserted hallway.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT IN THERE!" Cuddy yelled at House not really caring who heard her. House shrugged, only resulting in Cuddy become madder. "That's all I get? After you pulled your little prank, I have to go back in there and pray that they still want to go through with expanding the oncology ward. Do you think at all before you do things or is that too hard for you?" Cuddy stopped ranting and looked up at House who was smiling.

"What could possibly be worth smiling about right now?"

"You finally talked to me after 24 hours." Cuddy didn't realize it was that long, but was still confused. House gave her a few seconds to put the pieces together, hoping he wouldn't have to explain it to her. Cuddy broke out into a big ear-to-ear grin and looked up at House.

"You pulled that little stunt in the conference room so I would talk to you because you cared enough about our relationship to be bothered by the fact I was giving you the silent treatment. House, that was surprisingly sweet."

"That doesn't sound like something I would do." House was happy she figured it out, but sweet? That wasn't him.

"That's sounds like exactly something you would do. House, I was mad because you won't open up to me, not just because you left the house in the middle of the night."

"Cuddy, you don't want to know what my father did to me." Cuddy, shook her head.

"Yes I do, we are a team now House, we have a daughter for god sakes. We need to be open and honest to each other or this isn't going to work."

"Shouldn't you get back in there, wouldn't want to keep those rich people waiting." Cuddy sighed, why does House always deflect?

"Fine, but we _will _talk later; don't think you are off the hook just quite yet." Cuddy turned on her heels, and walked back into the conference room.

"Can't wait," Cuddy heard House call as she opened the door of the conference room.

**A/N: Okay, I decided to cut it there. Next chapter, Cuddy and House have a revealing conversation. Will House be able to open up or will he shut down? Review and you will find out.**


	5. I Should Tell You

**A/N: Thanks for all your kind reviews; it's so nice to hear you guys are enjoying my story. Now, for the moment you all have patiently been waiting for, here's chapter five!**

**Chapter Five- I Should Tell You…**

House made his way down to the cafeteria for his daily Reuben after the board room fiasco. At first, House was happy that he got Cuddy to talk to him, but now she wants him to open up which wasn't his intention. His childhood was so traumatic he wouldn't even know where to begin. Should he tell her about the time his father made him sleep outside in the pouring rain? Or, how about the time he was tied up and forced to listen to his father's war stories? House shook his head to clear the cobwebs of his childhood. Instead, he ranked the nurses down in the cafeteria by do-ability until Wilson showed up to gossip, his favorite hobby besides marriage.

House was in the middle of deciding whether the new pediatric nurse was a lesbian or not, when Wilson slid into the booth across from him. A pregnant pause ensued as Wilson mentally picked the best way to extract information from his best friend.

"So...should I start with what the hell were you thinking?" Wilson asked, to which House smirked.

"That could work, but have no fear Huddy is back on." Wilson gave House a confused look.

"Huddy, what the hell is Huddy?" House rolled his eyes,

"Cuddy and I, you know House and Cuddy, Huddy. Brad and Angelina aren't the only ones who can have a cool nickname."

"Yeah that's great House, but I am more concerned with what happened outside of the board room and how you are still alive after the look on Cuddy's face."

"It's simple Wilson; I had to get Cuddy pissed off so she would talk to me. Then, I would let her rant for a little bit about how much of an ass I am. Finally, she came to the conclusion that I am a changed man because I actually gave a crap about our relationship to try and fix it instead of ignoring her and getting drunk like I used to do." Wilson's eyes widened like saucers.

"And she actually fell for this?" House smirked and nodded. "Damn, you are pretty impressed with yourself right now aren't you?"

"I would say it's pretty hard not to be, Wilson. Unfortunately, not everything is sunshine and rainbows just yet."

"What do you mean; she is talking to you, that is what you wanted right?"

"As it turns out, Cuddy wasn't totally mad at me for leaving her a couple nights ago to get plastered. She was mad because I wouldn't 'open up'," House made air quotes, "to her about my childhood so I have to make something up."

"Why do you have to make something up? Just tell her what really happened."

"If Cuddy knew what my father really did to me, she would get that Jewish guilt thing you people are famous for and start to cry. I was just thinking of lessening the things I tell her just a bit." Wilson shook his head,

"House, Cuddy is going to feel guilty no matter what you tell her, and it's not going to make it any easier if you lie to her. Just tell her what you need to and let her have her moment, then move on."

"My soaps going to be on soon, do I have to pay you for our little therapy session?" House snarked and left the table. Wilson collected up his garbage and let House's deflection roll of him, knowing that his best friend will take his advice.

Stepping off the elevator, House was immediately ambushed by the team. "Jane suffered a cardiac arrest, we shocked her back into sinus rhythm, but then she started to bleed from everywhere." Taub said as they walked into House's office. The team took their seats while House wrote excessive bleeding onto the whiteboard. House and the team bounced ideas back and forth and ultimately decided to give Jane platelets. The team goes to do their task and House goes to see Cuddy.

"How lovely to see you mistress," House says and sits down in an office chair. Cuddy looks up from her paperwork and smiles at House. "I'm ready for my heart-to-heart now." Cuddy gives House a guilty look,

"House I don't want to force you to open up,"

"First, you are mad because I don't confide in you, now you are mad because I am ready and you think you are forcing me? I can't win."

"House, I don't want to force you to, but I think you should. Not here though, anyone can barge in at any minute." Just as Cuddy said that, Chase came barging in with a frantic look on his face.

"There you are, Jane is losing blood faster than we can transfuse it. We need to think of another option, fast." House shot Cuddy a "are we done here" look to which she nodded. On the way out, Cuddy heard House say, "Where else would I be besides Wilson's?"

House met the team outside of the patient's room, "wow this is like déjà-vu all over again!" House said.

"What do you suggest we do?" Foreman said all business.

"You are no fun, no wonder you and Thirteen aren't getting along." Thirteen flushed, _gotcha_, House thought.

"Yeah my personal life is boring, can we move on?" Foreman snapped.

"Geeze, all you had to do was ask. It's simple, cut the granuloma's off of the main blood supply and she will stop bleeding. It's five o' clock, if Cuddy needs me, tell her I went home."

House came home to his mom cooking dinner and his father watching some war documentary in the living room. House sighed, went to his bedroom to give Emma a bottle and burp her. (Cue the awww's ). Cuddy came home an hour later and they had dinner. House and his father basically ignored each other, leaving Cuddy and Blythe to provide the conversation. After dinner, Blythe hugged House and Cuddy while John opted for a handshake and kiss on the cheek for Cuddy. House closed the door and kissed Cuddy.

"Let's never do that again, okay?" Cuddy nodded and kissed House back, while leading him to the couch.

"Ice," House mumbled and ducked down. Cuddy put a supportive arm on his shoulder,

"What, Greg?" Cuddy asked.

**A/N: I have decided to end it here. Next chapter you will see what ice means and how Cuddy will react to it. Reviews get you faster updates people! ** House


	6. Haunts Me Everyday

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I appreciate it. I am putting a child abuse and language warning on this chapter, just so you are warned. I'll stop talking now and let you guys enjoy chapter six.**

**Chapter Six- Haunts Me Everyday**

_"Ice," House mumbled and ducked down. Cuddy put a supportive hand on his shoulder,_

_ "What Greg?" Cuddy asked._

_ "_When I was twelve, we were living in Japan at the time and it was summertime. Summers in Japan were notorious for being unbearably hot. My mom went out to get some groceries, leaving my dad and me alone. I was reading a book and my dad was watching TV. I just kept complaining how hot it was, we didn't have air conditioning yet. I guess my dad got tired of listening to me whine because the next thing I knew, he yanked me off the chair, threw me in the bathtub, and poured ice in it. I had to sit in there for a half an hour, and if I complained how cold I was, he would just lengthen the time I had to be in there for. By the time I got out, I couldn't feel anything and my dad chastised me for being a sissy and explained that he was helping me survive extreme temperatures, which was total bullshit."

House looked up to see anger, sadness, guilt and regret battling for dominance on Cuddy's face. Anger won the fight and Cuddy exploded.

"That fucking bastard," Cuddy got up and started pacing their living room. "I'm going to kill him, no, I am going to torture him and then kill him." Cuddy was mumbling incoherently to herself, pacing at a more frequent rate. House grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back to the couch.

"Lisa, stop, you are going to drive yourself insane. It happened a long time ago, there's nothing that can be undone now." Cuddy nodded, and felt salty tears prick at the corners of her eyes.

"Greg, I am so sorry, I had no idea. I feel bad for getting mad at you for not telling me. I didn't mean to rehash terrible memories between you and your father. I…" Cuddy couldn't finish, she buried into House's chest and started sobbing. House completely cut off guard, wraps his arms around Cuddy attempting to sooth her.

"You and your Jewish guilt, you are worse than Wilson when he cheats on his wives." House could feel Cuddy's deep throaty laugh vibrate on his chest. Cuddy pulls away from House's embrace and wipes her eyes.

"Greg, I get why you didn't want to tell me what your father did. I think that you should talk to someone about this though." Cuddy could feel House tense up at the thought of sharing his deepest darkest secrets with a complete stranger.

"You mean a therapist? Lisa, that's ridiculous. I am not overpaying some Dr. Phil wannabe to listen to my problems, just so he can get his money's worth to buy some damn sports car he doesn't need."

"Greg, I know it sounds extreme, but I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't think it would help." Cuddy once again felt tears stream down her face as she tried to compose herself. House wrapped in arm around her and brought her to his chest. He let her cry for a few more minutes,

"Lisa, you are getting snot on my favorite Journey t-shirt." House could feel Cuddy smirk against his chest.

"I'm sorry I'm crying so much, blame my period." Cuddy saw House's face morph into his trademark, "I'm solving a puzzle look". House took a few seconds to fit the last piece into place and looked at Cuddy expectantly. "Go ahead Greg; we can talk more about this later." House nodded, kissed Cuddy, hopped on his motorcycle and sped off.

Limping as fast as he could to his office, House was eager to share the diagnosis with the team. House was a little disappointed to find the lights out in his office. House took the elevator to the patient's room, and barged right in.

"Hello, sick person," House happily announced to Taub, Foreman, Chase and Jane.

"Who the hell are you?" Jane asked.

"Don't worry about me," House said, walking over to the garbage can. Smiling to himself, House used his cane to pick up a pack of tampons and threw it at Chase.

"Thanks, but I don't need them." Chase said and placed them on the table.

"What is going on here?" Jane asked, frightened. Foreman knew House long enough to know that the tampon box was correlated to the health of the patient.

"According to your medical file, you had a uterine myoma removed eight months ago. Well, what we thought were granulomas were actually tiny little uterine cells were released throughout your body which were released after your surgery. The cells started growing and bleeding when you started menstruating. They bleed, you bleed, everywhere. You have a disease called ectopic endometriosis. Take out the growths surgically, and you will be cured." House ignored the stunned faces of his team and the patient, (whose name he never bothered to remember), and walked out headed for his best friend's office.

"Cuddy wants me to go to a therapist." House announced as he shut the door to Wilson's office. Wilson's face contorted into a bemused expression.

"What are you doing here?"

"I had an epiphany and solved the case. Did you hear what I said? Cuddy wants me to go into therapy. Your little plan of opening up and telling her my feelings backfired in several ways. First, she started sobbing after I told her and then she said that the only way I could get better was to tell some over paid idiot about my feelings. Thanks a lot Wilson."

"Oh no, don't pin this on me. Although I agree with her assessment of seeing a therapist or better yet, a psychiatrist, I didn't tell her to suggest that to you. House I think that you should consider it and if you absolutely believe it won't work then don't go, but I think it will." House nodded,

"If I go see a _psychiatrist_ then I won't get the amateur Wilson psychoanalyzation method anymore." Wilson chuckled,

"Don't worry House, I will continue to scrutinize every move you make until the second you die, it's what I do." House shrugged and got up to leave. _Maybe going along with Cuddy's suggestions won't be half bad. I could get Cuddy and Wilson off my back and stop having nightmares. It's a two for one deal! _House thought to himself as he walked in the front door. Cuddy was already in bed since it was after ten, so House stripped down to his underwear and joined her.

"So, how did Wilson take my therapy idea?" Cuddy asked. House turned over on his side to face her,

"Wilson called you, the second I stepped out of his office didn't he?" Cuddy nodded,

"It's Wilson, what do you expect?" House shrugged, Cuddy did have a point.

"I told him like I'm telling you that I am neither accepting nor rejecting your idea. I have a proposition for you." House paused to make sure he had Cuddy's undivided attention,

"I will look into seeing a psychiatrist, not a therapist, the week after Thanksgiving. If I can't find one that I like then you will get off my back about, okay mistress?" Cuddy smirked; leave it to House to find a way out of this in an interesting way.

"I agree with your offer and I'm glad you mentioned thanksgiving which I believe is in a week, we are going to Boston to see my parents and sister." Cuddy said.

"Seriously?"

**A/N: Ok, chapter six is complete. Next chapter, House and Cuddy will go to Boston to meet her family. Will House be able to tolerate Cuddy's family? Reviews will get you a new chapter people.**


	7. Boston Bound

**A/N: Sorry for the longer update, writers block has plagued me. Your reviews have been my motivation keeping me going and for that I thank you. I'll shut up now, and let you enjoy chapter seven.**

**Chapter Seven- Boston Bound**

"Damn," House said as he barged into Wilson's office. Wilson simply ignored House and continued typing on his computer. House not liking the fact he was being ignored, leaned over and turned off the monitor on Wilson's computer screen. Wilson heavily sighed, now he can't pretend to ignore his best friend.

"So, what can I help you with today, House?" House sat down in his chair and groaned.

"Cuddy is making me go to her parents' house in Boston for thanksgiving. We are leaving tomorrow." Wilson had to agree with him that it sucks. He had to meet all three of his ex-wives parents at some point during their short marriages.

"What are you going to do?" Wilson asked.

"I don't have a choice but to go, I can just picture it now, 'Lisa, who is this scary man you brought home with you'" Wilson laughed, House did a great imitation of Lois Cuddy. "Don't even get me started on Cuddy's sister. I got the better deal banging Cuddy than _her." _House says with disgust.

"Cuddy has a sister?" House nodded and flinched.

"Wilson you have to come with me, I need a wingman this weekend."

"House as much as I don't want to, I can't. Kim and I are going to Atlantic City this weekend for Thanksgiving." House eyes widened.

"Seriously? Kim isn't making you meet her parents?" Wilson shook his head.

"Apparently her dad died last year and she isn't speaking to her mother, which works out great for me. I am going to surprise her with the trip tonight." Wilson saw House drift off, getting his classic "solving a puzzle" look.

"House what are you thinking about?"

"I'm trying to find out a way to get out of this weekend. Should I go with food poisoning or sick baby?" Wilson rolled his eyes,

"House, Cuddy would never fall for it, she is not stupid. Besides, just go and make a good impression on her parents'. Cuddy will love you forever if you do."

"Yeah, that's the problem." House snarked, "It's easy for you to say make a good impression, I bet all of your three ex wives' parents loved you."

"Of course they did, until I cheated on their daughters. That's beside the point, anyway get out of my office and have a wonderful weekend." House took half off Wilson's abandoned turkey sandwich and left.

The next morning Cuddy woke up House at 6am. House groaned and grabbed a pillow to cover his head.

"What could you possibly need this early?" House said from behind the pillow.

"Get up, get packed because we are leaving in an hour." Cuddy said while grabbing clothes from her closet.

"When I agreed to go, I didn't think we were going this early. Why do we need to leave this early, anyway?" Cuddy sighed and rubbed her forehead, this weekend was going to be stressful enough without House's bitching.

"Greg, the drive to Boston is five hours on a good day, besides I promised my mother that we would be there before 1."

"Lisa, why in the hell would you promise her that?"

"House, I am going with or without you, if you really don't want to go then fine, don't. But, don't expect Emma and I to come home to you on Sunday. Besides, you can't make fun of my family if you aren't there, can you?" House decided to relent after hearing Cuddy's dead serious tone.

"Fine, but I better get a lot of sexual favors in return. And I get a free pass if I say something really insulting to any of your family members."

"Yes to the sexual favors, no to the free pass. Greg, can you please just behave until Sunday?" House half nodded and disappeared into the bathroom to get dressed.

An hour and a half later, Cuddy had packed her and Emma's stuff and brought it out to her Lexus. When Cuddy came back, House brought out his suitcase into the living room.

"Is that the suitcase you packed your ego in?" Cuddy snarked, House smirked, _score one for Cuddy._

"No, this is the one I packed your panties in." House snapped back.

"Really? I am surprised they all fit." House grinned, he loved that Cuddy could keep up with his insults.

"I just picked out my favorites, and I threw some edible underwear in there too, those are for Julia." Cuddy made a disgusted face and took the suitcase away from House.

"Greg, can you change Emma's diaper while I take your suitcase out to the car?" House nodded and went into the nursery. He carefully lifted Emma out of her crib and laid her down onto the changing table.

"What do you think of going on this trip, kid?" House asked while taking the diaper off. Emma blinked and looked at House with her big baby blues. "I'll tell you what, just between you and me, if you puke on your aunt Julia I will give convince your mom to get you out of this ugly piece of clothing." House finished changing her diaper, picked up Emma and brought her out to the car. Cuddy just finished loading the entire luggage into the car, walked over to House, kissed him, took Emma and placed her in the car seat. House got into the drivers' seat, Cuddy rejoined him in the passenger seat, and they were off.

"So, tell me about what I have to put up with for the next few days." House said to Cuddy while arriving in Boston.

"My father is a pediatrician and takes pride in his job. My mother is the stereotypical housewife. She is a very classy lady and is a huge prude."

"So, I shouldn't mention the time when you got plastered and you rode me all night long?" Cuddy rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I don't think she or my father would appreciate that at all. Also, don't say anything degrading to me in front of my father, unless you want to get shot."

"No saying 'Cuddy only has her job because she sleeps with all the donors'?"

"Moving on, Julia and her husband Jack are the picturesque family. They have three kids, Sarah is ten, Derrick is seven and Kate is four. Jack is the President of Atlantic Pharmaceutical and Julie is a stay-at-home mom. Jack has had multiple affairs which Julia is convinced I'm jealous because she thinks she has the wonderful life." House sensed some sibling rivalry in Cuddy, which is understandable; she has to put up with hearing from her mother how perfect Julia is.

"Don't worry Lisa, I'll poke fun at Julia's "perfect" life every chance I get."

"Just please not in front of my mother, she always favored Julia."

"I'm not making any promises. You know what you got into when you brought me here. One more thing, should I call you Cuddy, Lisa or sweetheart while we are here?"

"Lisa is fine, why sweetheart?"

"To piss of your sister, duh." House said. Cuddy laughed; at least House was kind of trying.

"You can call me sweetheart all you want this weekend as long as you don't grab my ass or boobs in front of my parents'." House frowned, _damn, she ruined my plan! _"Oh this is it!" Cuddy said and pointed to a mansion on the right side of the street. House swerved and pulled into the driveway.

"You never told me your parents' were loaded." House said and turned off the car.

"I thought I implied that when I said my dad was a pediatrician." Cuddy got out of the car and retrieved Emma from her car seat. House took a minute to examine the massive house in front of him.

"Greg, are you coming?" Cuddy said with a sleeping Emma in her hands. House wordlessly followed Cuddy to the front door. Cuddy rang the doorbell and a woman in her mid sixties with black curly hair answered the door.

"Lisa, George, how nice to see you!" House sighed, _this is going to be one long weekend,_ he thought to himself.

**A/N 2: Happy belated Thanksgiving to my US readers, hope your turkey day was a happy one. Next chapter we will get to meet the entire Cuddy clan and see how House and Julia get along. Reviews get you a new chapter faster!**


	8. Twenty Questions

**A/N: Welcome back my faithful readers! I promise to keep this short, so thank you for all your reviews and enjoy chapter eight!**

**Chapter Eight- Twenty Questions**

_Cuddy rang the doorbell and a mid sixties woman with black curly hair opened the door._

_ "Lisa, George, how nice to see you!" House sighed, _this is going to be one long weekend, _he thought to himself._

"It's Greg, mom." Cuddy said as Lois opened the door wider to let them in.

"Of course, I'm sorry, nice to meet you Greg." Lois then wrapped her arms around House's tall frame and squeezed hard. Lois let go and let House walk into her home. She closed the door after her and turned to Cuddy holding Emma. "And who is this adorable little girl?" Lois said, bending down to be eye level with a sleeping Emma.

"This is Emma," Cuddy said and passed her off to her mother who accepted her graciously. "Where are dad and Julia?" Cuddy asked as they were heading into the living room.

"Julia, her _husband,"_ Cuddy felt jab number one,_ "_and her _three_ children," Jab number two into the heart. "Will be here in about an hour, some female associate of his was kind enough to cover for him so he could fly down here for the weekend. Isn't that nice of her?" House rolled his eyes,

"Yeah, I bet she's getting sex out of the deal," House mumbled to himself. Cuddy elbowed him in the ribs from her spot on the couch.

"What was that Greg?" Cuddy silently pleaded with him not to repeat what he just said to her mother.

"Nothing, I was just wondering where Mr. Cuddy is?"

"Oh, how nice of you to ask, Kevin just ran to the grocery store real quick to get some potatoes for our dinner later." As soon as she finished her sentence, Kevin Cuddy came walking into the living room, his arms full of groceries. Cuddy immediately stood up and went to hug her dad. House let the scene unfold in front of him, unsure of how to act.

"Daddy this," pointing to Emma, "is your granddaughter Emma." The sixty-year-old looked down at Lois and smiled a perfectly crafted grandfather smile. "And this is my boyfriend Greg House." House stood up and met Kevin's hand in a firm handshake.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Cuddy," House said and put a relaxing hand on Cuddy's shoulder.

"The same to you Greg," Kevin released his hand and set the groceries down on the table. "What do you say we let the ladies catch up a bit and you and I unload the luggage?" House looked at Cuddy for help; he knew his leg couldn't handle that.

Luckily Cuddy got the message and stepped in, "daddy, I'm sure Greg would like to talk to you, but you get to do the unloading, we are your guests after all." House met Cuddy's eyes in a silent thank you for not mentioning his leg.

"You are right baby girl, thank you for reminding me of my manners. Greg, let's go outside and talk." House nodded and followed Mr. Cuddy outside to House's car.

"I have to ask, what's wrong with your leg?" House flinched; he thought he dodged that question inside.

"I had an infarction in my leg while playing golf."

"You have been arrested for drugs before, I know that you take Vicodin for your leg, but I will not let my daughter date a drug addict."

"How do you know my criminal history, are you a PI on the side?" Kevin smirked,

"No, but I do a full criminal background check on the men my daughters date. Have you ever been in a serious relationship?"

"Yes, for five years."

"How did it end?" House was starting to get uncomfortable; he didn't like to talk about Stacy.

"I figured once someone cripples another, the relationship goes downhill from there. Plus, she was something starting with a B." Kevin shot House a confused look, House sighed and began telling the story of his infarction. Back inside, Cuddy and Lois were peeling the potatoes and chatting.

"Greg seems nice," Lois said to break the ice. Cuddy sensed some hesitation in her tone.

"What's wrong mother?" Cuddy snapped. She was so tired of hearing how she should get married and have kids and when she finally finds someone he is not good enough.

"It just seems that he wants you but none of the commitment attached to it."

"Mom, we have a child for god sakes, I gave him plenty of opportunities to leave while I was pregnant, and he stayed."

"Of course he is going to stay Lisa; you were pregnant with his child. I am not saying that he is going to leave you, I am just saying don't be sad when he runs away because you want to get married." Cuddy was so sick and tired of hearing this,

"So you summed up from the two seconds you were with him that he doesn't want to marry me? What is it mom, Julia can have the perfect husband and kids, but I can't?" Cuddy could feel her eyes misting up more and more after every word.

"Lisa, calm down. That is not what I am saying. All I am saying his I know his type. Finish peeling the potatoes and get yourself cleaned up, Julia will be here soon." Cuddy walked out of the room, checked on Emma, grabbed her luggage and stormed up stairs, slamming the door behind her.

Meanwhile, outside House was finished venting about Stacy.

"Damn, were you guys engaged?" House shook his head.

"Did you want to marry her?" Again, House shook his head.

"Do you ever want to get married?"

"Funny, I don't remember playing Twenty Questions," House snarked.

"I am only looking out for my daughter and granddaughter."

"So you think that I can just pick up and leave whenever I want?" House snapped.

"I am not saying you will, I am saying you could." That made House stop and think, _could I really just leave Cuddy and Emma if I wanted to?_

"Okay, well since you have my entire luggage I am going to check on my _girlfriend._" House limped ahead of Kevin who was struggling to carry in the complete luggage by himself. House walked past Lois in the kitchen and went upstairs to the room he was sharing with Cuddy and Emma. Cuddy frantically tried to wipe the tears away, but it didn't go unnoticed to House's analytical eye.

"What's wrong, do I have to beat your mother with my cane?" Cuddy smirked,

"I think you should save that for Julia. My mother thinks that you will just one day decide you are tired of this and leave me and Emma alone."

"Funny, your dad thought the same thing too." Cuddy looked up in House with bewilderment and anger.

"Really, would you ever consider getting married?" Cuddy regretted asking that question as soon as it came out of her mouth. She could see the defenses go up and House retreat.

"I…don't…know. I don't think just because your parents want you to get married we should get married. You know that I am no good with relationships and commitments Cuddles."

"Greg, I know, and you are trying and I really appreciate that. I am as bad with commitments as you are, and I don't want to get married right now. Besides, I still have my post-pregnancy body; I would look fat in a dress." House rolled his eyes,

"Your ass and jugs are the perfect size for me," House reached out and pinched Cuddy's ass. Suddenly, House heard stomping coming from downstairs.

"What is that? It sounds like a stampede."

"That must be my wonderful sister and her three kids."

"It sounds like an elephant landed in your living room." House and Cuddy stood up and walked downstairs. Julia turned her head and made contact with House. She sneered,

"Lisa, what the hell is he doing here?" Lois Cuddy looked from House to Julia in surprise,

"Julia, how do you know Greg?"

**A/N 2: And I will end it there. Next chapter, we get the Cuddy family dinner and some history on House and Julia. Any thoughts? Reviews get you answers people!**


	9. The Perfect Child

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, and I am sorry I suck at updating. December is always a crazy month as my birthday is on Wednesday (8****th****) and of course Christmas. Oh and apparently Cuddy has another sister now? Obviously, she is not in my story, but here's chapter nine!**

**Chapter Nine- The Perfect Child**

_"Lisa what the hell is he doing here?" Lois Cuddy looked from House to Julia in surprise,_

_ "Julia how do you know Greg?" _

"I met him once while Lisa was at Michigan," Julia lied. House was thankful he didn't tell Cuddy's mom the circumstances surrounding their encounter.

"Hi I am Jack Hall," A man with auburn hair and chocolate brown eyes said and held out his hand for House to shake. House cautiously accepted his hand.

"I'm Derrick," the ten-year-old boy with curly black hair said.

"I'm Sarah," the wide eyed seven-year-old exclaimed.

"Kate," a quiet voice whispered into Julia's neck.

"Hi kids, I'm Greg House, you can call me Greg or House I really don't care which."

"Okay, why don't we get our luggage, Lisa do you want to help?" Jack asked. Cuddy was confused as to why her brother in law was asking to spend time with her, but agreed nonetheless. Julia put Kate on the floor and the kids bolted outside with Jack and Lisa trailing behind. House was scared, why did Cuddy have to leave him alone with her parents and sister? Lois and Kevin were oblivious to the tension between the two and returned to the kitchen to check on the turkey. House, desperate to leave, limped upstairs to confirm that Emma was still sleeping.

House entered the guest room and was surprised to discover Emma was awake and hungry. House picked her up and fed her a bottle. Meanwhile, downstairs, Julia was working up the courage to confront House. _I need to find out his motives for being here_, she thought to herself and ran up the stairs, bursting into the guest bedroom. Julia was absolutely astonished to see House burping a baby.

"You steal a baby on the way up here?" Julia snarked and sat down on the bed next to House.

"Damn, how did you know? Well, if you want to call the cops, I am sure your mother will back your story."

"Seriously, who is she?"

"Hmm, I think this is Emma, me and Cuddy's love child."

"You and Lisa had a baby, like she would have a baby with you."

"Ouch, that really hurt, I am a stud you know, just ask your sister how Emma was conceived."

"I think I will pass, can I hold her?" House was reluctant, but he figured if he can get Julia on his side, it would grant him more sex from Cuddy.

"Fine, just don't brainwash her," Julia rolled her eyes and took Emma from House.

"Hi, Emma, I am your auntie Julia." Julia whispered in a baby voice and held Emma up high. Emma looked down and vomited all over Julia's face and plum sweater. House smirked, walked over to the diaper bag and handed a towel to Julia. _Atta girl, Emma, I knew you were useful for something!_ Julia handed Emma back to House and wiped herself up.

"House let's cut the bullshit, why are you here with Lisa?"

"Generally, when people are in a relationship they go places together, and Cuddy made me come here, so I agreed."

"Funny, the last time you and Lisa were in a relationship was back at Michigan. That was right before you ripped her heart out, taking off like you did."

"I was accepted to John's Hopkins, I would be an idiot to pass up that opportunity for some girl."

"That some girl is my sister. I had to take her home from random bars for months after you left. I watched my sister fall apart because of what you did to her. Now you are here twenty years later, with a child, what makes you think it's going to last this time?" House was shocked, Cuddy never told him about what she did after he left for Hopkins.

"I love your sister, a hell of a lot more than I did back then."

"Why should I trust you now? If you leave her and Emma like you did twenty years ago, I will personally hunt you down and rip off your balls." Julia said and left, slamming the door behind her. House looked from Emma to the door back to Emma again,

"I am so proud of you for throwing up on your aunt, kid." House said and rocked Emma back to sleep. Cuddy, Jack and the kids came back into the house and Cuddy ran upstairs immediately to check on Emma. Her eyes softened as Cuddy saw House quietly humming and rocking Emma to sleep.

"How did it go with Mr. Perfect?" House whispered. Cuddy rolled her eyes,

"He was gushing about his new _female _paralegal." House scrunched his eyebrows,

"I thought you said he was the president of Atlantic Pharmaceutical?"

"Yeah, the legal department, what did you do while I was gone?"

"Julia and I had a lovely chat," House sarcastically answered.

"About what?" Cuddy snapped. House usually loved when Cuddy gets all riled up, but it's pointless now since they are at her parent's house.

"She was just wondering why I was here since the last time she saw me was right before I left you to go to Hopkins." Cuddy's eyes lit up in a rage.

"That is absolutely none of her concern; she has made it perfectly clear that she doesn't want anything to do with my life since I am the disappointment in the family. Damn, I'm guessing she saw Emma."

"Yeah and Emma puked all over her!" Cuddy's whole face lit up and she kissed Emma on the cheek.

"That's my baby girl! Good job sweetie!" Cuddy exclaimed.

"DINNER!" Kevin Cuddy yelled from the kitchen. House and Cuddy collectively sighed; the last place they wanted to go is downstairs.

"I suppose we should go, we can't just hide up here." Cuddy whispered and picked up Emma, setting her down in the port-a-crib.

"Fine, but I am going to rub it in Julia's face that Emma puked on her."

"I would expect nothing less from you." Cuddy and House walked downstairs to the formal dining room. Cuddy sat in between Kate and Derrick while House sat across from her at the end seat, next to Jack.

"Hello, how nice of you to join us," Lois snipped at Cuddy and House. Kevin shot a warning glare to his wife, which she simply ignored.

"Did you know Lisa, that Julia has decided to stay home with her kids instead of taking the teaching job she was offered." Lois said. Cuddy sighed, and looked at House for support.

"No mom, Julia didn't have a chance to tell me yet."

"Oh, sorry to spoil the surprise dear, I wish you would consider following in your sister's footsteps as a mother. How many hours do you work a week? 90?" Lois asked. _Deep breaths Lisa, _Cuddy thought to herself.

"No mother, I worked about 70, if it's any of your concern." Cuddy said through gritted teeth.

"Well, I think that you should take it a little easier, if you want to keep your family." Lois snapped. House could see Cuddy's eyes misting up and she abruptly left the table. _That's it; I am done with this bitch._ House thought to himself.

"You bitch," House whispered. _Did I just say that out loud?_ House pondered.

"EXCUSE ME!" Lois yelled. _Oh, shit!_

**A/N 2: Okay, I'm cutting it there. Next chapter is a House/Lois/Julia showdown! As always, reviews get you to chapter ten! Thanks!**


	10. Mother Knows Best

**A/N: As always thanks for your kind reviews, they always brighten my day. I am going to try and wrap up their nightmare trip to Boston hopefully either this or next chapter, because I want to move on to Christmas! Until then, have fun reading chapter ten.**

**Chapter Ten- Mother Knows Best **

_"You bitch," House whispered, _did I just say that out loud?

"_EXCUSE ME!" Lois yelled, _oh shit! Everyone at the table, including the kids turned to face House. _Damn it, all you had to do was get along with these people for three days; you couldn't do that for Cuddy? _The Wilson voice shouted in his head.

"Kids, why don't we go play in the playroom?" Jack suggested, not wanting to get involved in whatever is going on.

"But we haven't eaten yet, dad." Sarah said.

"Take your plates with you okay?" Lois sweetly said glaring at House out of the corner of her eyes. Jack, Derrick, Kate and Sarah picked up their plates and headed upstairs running into Cuddy on the way up.

"Lisa, are you okay?" Jack asked, after seeing Cuddy's red eyes and nose. Jack turned to the kids and handed them his plate signaling he wanted to speak to Lisa alone.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, it's just my mother you know?" Jack nodded sympathetically and caressed Cuddy's cheek. Cuddy flinched and backed up into the wall.

"What the hell are you doing?" Cuddy hissed.

"Come on; don't tell me you don't like it." Jack whispered, and moved closer to Cuddy. Cuddy felt the walls closing in on her and slammed Jack against the wall with all of her strength.

"Listen, I know all about your little affairs and I am keeping my mouth shut for my mother's sake. Just because I am nice to you doesn't mean I want to sleep with you. In case you haven't noticed, we are at a family function and my _boyfriend_ is chewing out my mother. So, if it's okay with you, I am going to go salvage what is left of my relationship with my mother, I suggest you do the same with your _wife_." Cuddy snapped and stormed off, leaving a speechless Jack in her wake. Cuddy was determined to give her mother a piece of her mind about her interfering with her relationships, but as she approached the dining room it seemed like House was handling it pretty well. She quietly hung in the doorway and watched House work his magic.

"What do you care how many hours Cuddy works a week? You have your head shoved up Julia's ass all the time, you don't even notice Cuddy." House asked.

"How dare you say such a thing about me, I love both my daughters equally!" House scoffed,

"Now I highly doubt that, otherwise you wouldn't rag on Cuddy so much.

"I am just trying to make Lisa realize how lucky she is to have a family."

"By talking about Julia nonstop? Yeah I bet Cuddy really feels the love from you." House said sarcastically.

"I am showing Lisa how to be a good mother and housewife, Julia is a good example."

"Cuddy is a great mother."

"Lisa needs to spend some time at home otherwise Emma will think the nanny is her mother." From the doorway a tear slipped down Cuddy's cheek.

"LOIS!" Kevin Cuddy yelled at his wife from across the table. House heard a sniffle and turned to see Cuddy crying in the doorway, he was tired of seeing Cuddy shed tears over this bitch of a mother.

"So, you think Cuddy's a bad mother? Did you forget about the time she stayed up all night rocking Emma when she had a fever, or how she would call the nanny 25 times a day to remind her to tell Emma how much Cuddy loves her or refused to go back to work until she knew her daughter had the best nanny in all of New Jersey? Or did you overlook those details because Cuddy actually chose to have a career instead of Julia who stays home all day and lives off her husband?" To hear how proud House was of her as a mother was too much for Cuddy, she let out a sob and ran around the table to House burying her head in his chest.

Lois was shocked and a little sad that her daughter heard everything she said about her. Kevin and Julia were happy Cuddy found someone who would stick up to Lois for her.

"Thank…" Cuddy let out another sob, "you…so much…I…" she sniffed, "think…we should…go…home!" House stood up and brought Cuddy into the living room where they could talk. House sat down first and brought Cuddy down into his arms, rubbing her back soothingly.

"Shhhh…It's not your fault your mother is crazy." Cuddy laughed and hiccupped. From inside the dining room Kevin Cuddy saw the couples embrace and turned to Julia and Lois.

"Lois, I think you need to apologize to Lisa."

"Kevin, don't be ridiculous, Greg should apologize to me." Lois said. Kevin scowled, he loved his wife, he really did, but sometimes she could be a massive pain in the ass.

"Greg was standing up for Lisa," Kevin felt a lightbulb pop in his head, "which is what you wanted him to do all along didn't you?" Lois smirked,

"I don't know what you are talking about Kevin; I would never do such a thing."

"Lois, I have been married to you for thirty five years, you goaded Greg into confronting you to prove how loyal he is to Lisa, didn't you?"

"It worked, didn't it?" Julia was stunned, she had no idea her mother was that manipulative.

"Lois, I know you think what you are doing is clever, but you destroyed your relationship with your daughter, you need to fix it."

From the couch, Cuddy and House were in the middle of talking about their plans to leave when House got an epiphany.

"House what is it?"

"Your mother tricked me into sticking up for you."

"What?"

"It makes sense, she was convinced I was only in this relationship for the sex, which is true," Cuddy punched House in the shoulder, "ouch, anyway, I don't think she planned on you hearing everything, but she did plan on provoking me into standing up for you to prove my faithfulness." Cuddy was flabbergasted, she had no idea her mother was that smart.

"Wow, I would never thought I would see the day when Gregory House was tricked," Cuddy snarked.

"I do slip up occasionally, now I see where you get your scary and evil-conniving gene from."

"What can I say, I learn from the best."

"Damn right you do, and it's a massive turn on."

"If I knew me trying to pull a fast one on you gets you hard, I'll try to be more cunning in the future." House and Cuddy were interrupted from their conversation by Lois Cuddy entering the room.

"Lisa, can we speak in private?"

**A/N 2: I am so sorry this took so long, writers block is a bitch I must defeat. I have decided next chapter will be the end of the thanksgiving festivities. Since I haven't updated in a bit, I can tell you that the Cuddy/Lois conversation might turn ugly. Read and review to find out the whole thing!**


	11. Wave Your White Flag

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! This chapter is probably going to be shorter, but I do want to move on to Christmas. Anyway, enjoy chapter eleven.**

**Chapter Eleven- Wave Your White Flag**

_"Lisa, can I talk to you in private?"_

"Look, mom if you are here to criticize me more about my life choices, I really don't want to hear it." Cuddy snapped, feeling House's strong arm behind her rub her back soothingly.

"I take it you figured out that I only said those things to test Greg's love for you." Cuddy nodded,

"Yes, I did, and I think you should've told me before you did it." Lois nodded solemnly.

"You are right, I should have, but I didn't and now I realized I hurt you and I'm sorry."

"I appreciate that, mom, but we are still going to leave."

"Lisa, please stay, it's Thanksgiving. At least finish dinner with us." Cuddy turned to House for guidance.

"Whatever you want to do Cuddy, this is your decision." House almost vomited when he saw that "aw" look on Lois' face. Cuddy flashed her trademark lopsided smile at House and turned to face Lois.

"Fine we will stay, as long as you stop with the side comments about my decisions."

"Okay Lisa, I promise and Greg I apologize to you as well." House nodded. Lois rejoined her husband and Julia in the dining room leaving House and Cuddy to talk about what just happened.

"Wow, I never thought I would see the day when my mother apologizes to someone." House smirked,

"I didn't tell you I slipped her a roofie before dinner."

"Damn, I thought she was actually being sincere for once." Cuddy grinned, and leaned back into House's embrace.

"Silly, naïve, Cuddy, where did you go wrong?" House kissed the crown of Cuddy's head.

"I'm not sure, I think it was around the same time I started having sex with you. Anyway, we should go join them for dinner again."

"But, mom," House whined. Cuddy laughed, and leaned forward, ending the moment.

"Come on," Cuddy got off the couch and held out a hand to help House up. The rest of dinner went smoothly and House and Cuddy went upstairs after to spend some time away from their family.

"So how long do you think it will take before your mother recants her apology and goes all evil step-mom on our asses?" House said while Cuddy was breastfeeding Emma. Cuddy rolls her eyes,

"First of all, my eyes our up here," Cuddy said and waited till House looked up from her boobs, "Second, I could tell my mother was genuine."

"Didn't I already tell you not to be so naïve?" Cuddy handed Emma over to House to burp her while Cuddy pulled her shirt and bra down.

"I wasn't paying attention, the only reason I think she apologized was because she didn't want to sleep in the guest bedroom." Before House had a chance to respond, Emma let out a loud burp. House smiled at Cuddy,

"Cuddles, I think our daughter takes after me in the gas department." Cuddy smiled back, and was about to retort when she heard a knock at the bedroom door.

"Who is it?" Cuddy shouted.

"It's Julia," House sighed, will Cuddy's family ever leave them alone?

"Come in!" Cuddy yelled back. Julia came into the room and smiled at Emma.

"Lisa, can I talk to you alone for a second?" Cuddy looked at House and nodded her head towards the door, silently asking him to leave. House took Emma, and immediately left, he didn't want to know what they were talking about. He joined the rest of the Cuddy clan downstairs for a movie.

"You can stop thinking about it now," Julia said and closed the door behind her. Cuddy furrowed her eyebrows together and looked up at Julia.

"Thinking about what Julia?" Cuddy questioned and moved off the bed so Julia could join her.

"About whether or not to tell me about what happened in the hallway with Jack," Cuddy sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"You saw that, in the hallway? Cuddy asked to which Julia nodded. "Julia, I never ever would flirt in any way with your husband, I love House."

"I know, Jack has this sick idea that when women are nice to him they automatically want to have sex with him." Cuddy was shocked; she thought Julia came in here to insult her more.

"So, how long have you known about his affairs?"

"I know about the current affair, her name is Carrie, Jack's new legal assistant."

"How did you find out?"

"We went to the a Fourth of July picnic back when Carrie first joined the firm and he spent more time with her then he did with the kids and I."

"If you thought he was cheating, why didn't you just leave?"

"Lisa, I don't have a job, I lied to mom about the teaching offer, Jack is the only source of income coming into my family." Lisa felt bad for her sister, but oddly thankful for her job, she never had to worry about money like Julia.

"I'm sorry Julia about everything." Cuddy softly whispered.

"Me too, are you going to tell Greg what happened with Jack?" Cuddy shook her head strongly,

"I don't want to cause anymore tension in the house, as much as I want to see House punch him in the face, I think I can accept you secretly poisoning Jack for the rest of your marriage." Julia laughed, stood up, hugged Cuddy and left the room passing by House who was coming in.

"What was that all about?" House asked, passing Emma back to Cuddy.

"Julia and I were planning your murder, oops, I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

"I won't tell her, although I am sleeping with one eye open tonight."

"You ready to go to bed, I'm tired." Cuddy put a sleeping Emma back into her crib.

"Yeah, do you think your parents will mind if we have sex?" Cuddy shook her head and turned off the lights. The next morning, during breakfast, Cuddy got a call from the hospital. When Cuddy came back five minutes later, House could tell she was stressed.

"House we need to go, you have a case."

"Dear, do you really have to go?" Lois asked from the table.

"I'm sorry mom, a donor's kid is sick; House needs to go save his life." Lois nodded in understanding and House and Cuddy went to go gather their things. Once the entire luggage was put in the car House, Cuddy and Emma took off for Princeton.

"You were very convincing back there with your sick kid story." House said about halfway home.

"It's ridiculous to think I would lie to my own family." Cuddy said with mock hurt.

"You are one cunning little minx and I really want to have sex with you right now." House said and started rubbing Cuddy's thigh.

"Down boy, you will get your reward when we get home," Cuddy removed his hand from her thigh.

"Score! Would this be considered an early Christmas present?"

**A/N 2: That's all from Cuddy's family folks! Stay tuned for Christmas! Reviews will get you a new chapter, you know the routine.**


	12. The Best Part of Giving

**A/N: Happy Holidays! I wanted to post a chapter before I take a couple of days off to celebrate Christmas with my family. I'll keep this note short and sweet, thanks for the reviews, and enjoy chapter twelve.**

**Chapter Twelve- The Best Part of Giving…**

_Things were good, _Cuddy mused as she stepped into her office. Her relationship with her family has improved dramatically since that god awful trip to Boston a month ago. Julia has since acquired a teaching job at a local high school and separated from her husband Jack. Lois no longer makes stabs at Cuddy about her work, now she constantly bugs her for more grandchildren and a new son-in-law. House, Cuddy and Emma would be celebrating their first Chrismukkah together as a family in a couple of days. The only thing bothering Cuddy now was trying to find the perfect gift for House. Luckily, House knew the perfect present for Cuddy and wanted to get a second opinion from his best friend.

House, like every day, storms into Wilson's office with a bag of chips and sits down in his chair. Wilson chose to ignore him, only making House chew on his chips louder. Sighing, Wilson drops his pen, folds his arms across his chest and waits for House to confide in him. House remained silent, except for his annoyingly loud chips, so Wilson decided to start their conversation off.

"So what are you and Cuddy going to do for the holidays?" House rolled his eyes and threw the empty chip wrapper in the garbage.

"Cuddy made up some random holiday called Chrismukkah so that Emma could practice both Cuddy's Jewish and my former Christian beliefs. She is starting to cramp my style."

"How unfortunate for you, when are you going to give her your present?"

"Cuddy finally did something right when she said that we didn't have to give each other eight gifts for every day of Hanukkah. Instead, we are just going to give each other one big gift at the end."

"What are you going to get her?" House shook his head and wagged his finger at Wilson.

"No, no, no, no, I am not going to tell you what I got Cuddy just so you can tell her what I got her in exchange for less clinic hours. You will find out when Cuddy runs to gossip with you after." Wilson's shoulders sagged; he could tell House was genuinely excited to give Cuddy her gift this year. "What are you and the bimbo going to do this year?"

"We don't know yet, we thought about going to the Caribbean since Kim doesn't celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah." House's eyes light up,

"Your girlfriend's an atheist?" Wilson nodded, "Good job Wilson, you have finally found yourself a keeper. Oh, and don't bother with the Caribbean, come to my house for Cuddy's dumb dinner on Christmas day."

"Isn't that a little ironic that a Jew and an atheist are celebrating on Christmas day?" House shrugged,

"Trust me Wilson, I have tried, but it's Emma's first Christmas/Hanukkah and Cuddy wants to make it special, so whatever. Are you coming or not?"

"House you just told me about it five seconds ago."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, I have to check with my girlfriend first." House stood up, and walked towards the door,

"God Wilson, you are whipped," House said and walked to his office.

While the team was running tests and searching the new patient's home, House successfully evaded his clinic hours and Cuddy, and snuck out of the hospital. Since he only had two days until him and Cuddy exchange gifts, House decided today was the day to get Cuddy's present. He parked his car in the handicapped spot, grabbed his cane and stopped in front of the door of Kay Jewelers. Going off what Google and Cuddy's mom told him, he nervously walked into the store.

"Can I help you?" A high pitched voice broke into House's thinking. House jumped and turned to a petite blonde woman wearing too much makeup.

"I want to buy a ring," House mumbled, and looked at the woman's nametag, reading Mandy.

"Okay, well we have a wide variety of rings over here if you will follow me," Mandy said and led House to a row of rings surrounded by a glass panel. The pair spent the next hour going through several rings, until House finally settled on a simple, but elegant, white gold ring with a single diamond in the center. Surprisingly, House only insulted Mandy once, but still managed to walk out with a sale after promising to save her life if she ever needed it. House walked out of the store a satisfied man and for once in his life excited to give someone else a gift.

Later that day, Wilson barged into Cuddy's office with a smile on his face. The smile evaporated when he saw how stressed out Cuddy looked.

"Cuddy, is everything okay?" Cuddy rubbed her forehead and shook her head.

"No, it's two days before House and I exchange gifts and I have absolutely no idea of what to get him." Wilson nodded sympathetically; House was a complicated person to buy for.

"I can see your dilemma, how about a new band t-shirt?" Cuddy frowned,

"He has a million of those; I want to get him something he will appreciate and have fun with." Wilson scrunched his bushy eyebrows in deep thought.

"I've got it! There is a monster truck rally in Trenton in February that House is dying to go to. I was going to get him tickets, but I think it would be better if you bought the tickets and actually went with him." Cuddy felt a grin tug at her cheek,

"Wilson you are a genius, thanks so much! You are officially invited to dinner on Christmas day."

"I hate to burst your bubble Cuddy, but House already invited me."

"When did you talk to House?"

"He came into my office before lunch, being the gentlemen your boyfriend is; he of course knocked and waited for me to open the door." Cuddy chuckled,

"Yeah, that's sounds like him. What else did he say?"

"He seems genuinely excited to give you your gift this year."

"What is it?"

"I really don't know he wouldn't tell me, but whatever it is, I'm sure you are going to love it. Anyway, I got to go, I promised House we would go bowling, and I have no idea what I was thinking."

"Bye, Wilson, thanks for your help." Wilson grinned and walked out of Cuddy's office.

"Emma, wake up, it's Christmas!" Cuddy cooed to her sleeping daughter. House groaned from his side of the bed,

"Lisa, I thought we weren't doing the whole Santa thing since Emma is only three months old."

"Don't be a scrooge Greg, as part of Emma's Jewish and Christian parents, it's important for Emma to be exposed to traditions of both religions." House sighed; he had been hearing this speech for the past two weeks from Cuddy.

"Fine, but I better get laid for waking up this early later." House said and gave Cuddy a kiss before disappearing into the bathroom. Cuddy scowled, but picked up Emma and went downstairs. House took the opportunity to grab Cuddy's gift from his drawer in the bathroom and then joined Cuddy and Emma in the living room downstairs. A half an hour later, Emma "opened" all her gifts from "Santa". Emma was fed and passed out leaving House and Cuddy to exchange their gifts to each other.

"Open yours first," Cuddy gleefully said, and handed him a box. House's face lit up when he saw what Cuddy bought for him.

"Thanks, Lisa!" House said and gave Cuddy a passionate kiss. They broke the kiss and Cuddy looked expectantly at House, awaiting her gift. House felt his palms sweat and his heart race at the thought of the jewelry box in his pocket. _It's now or never, House_, House popped a Vicodin and got the ring out of his pocket. Cuddy's eyes went wide and she gasped when she saw House open the box to reveal a ring.

"Cuddy…" House began,

**A/N: Are you guys excited? Let me just warn you, it's not what you think, so don't get too excited. Reviews get you the second part of this Christmas/Hanukkah extravaganza!** ouse House


	13. Promises, Promises

**A/N: I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and got everything they wanted. I sure did! Thanks for all your kind reviews and enjoy the last Christmas chapter.**

**Chapter Thirteen- Promises, Promises**

_House popped a Vicodin and got the ring out of his pocket. Cuddy's eyes went wide and gasped when she saw House open the box to reveal a ring._

_ "Cuddy…" House began, _then hesitated and started over. "Lisa, when we went to your parents' house for Thanksgiving I was afraid your parents convinced you that I was just using your zesty bod for sex and I never wanted to marry you. Although this isn't an engagement ring, it's a promise ring. I know its so high school, but I promise that when you are ready I will buy you some bling and be your sex slave forever." Cuddy was astonished, she was ecstatic that House was finally putting himself out there and allowed himself to be vulnerable. She could feel the tears cascade down her face as she tried to regain composure and answer House back. House felt really uncomfortable just sitting there holding a ring while Cuddy was crying her eyes out next to him on the couch.

Cuddy took a shaky deep breath, wiped her eyes and put a hand under House's chin so he was eye to eye with her.

"Greg that is the sweetest thing you have done for me, thanks." Cuddy slid the ring on her finger and gave House a passionate kiss. House started to take Cuddy's shirt off, when Cuddy backed off.

"What are you doing?" House kissed her cheek,

"I wanted to thank you for the tickets," Cuddy smiled,

"I would like to thank you too, but I have to get everything ready for dinner later."

"Wilson and his bimbo aren't coming until three, you have time."

"Okay, but not here, I don't want Emma's first word to be 'oh House!'" Cuddy stood up and House followed,

"Technically, it would be 'oh God' but I see…" Cuddy cut him off with a fervent kiss. They continued to make out on their way to their bedroom.

"Merry Chrismukkah House!" Wilson said as he and Kim stepped into House and Cuddy's place. House grunted and they exchanged gifts.

"So, Wilson tells me you are an atheist?" House asked Kim. Kim is shocked, and glares at Wilson.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, nothing, I was going to congratulate you on joining me in hell."

"Oh well thanks, I am going to go help Cuddy in the kitchen."

"Kim, can you get us some beers?" Wilson asked. Kim nodded and kissed Wilson on the cheek. Kim returned with two beers and quickly disappears back into the kitchen before House asks her any more questions.

"Wilson, can I open my present now?" House pleads like a little kid. Wilson relents and House tears off the wrapping paper to reveal a 1967 Flying V guitar. "Bitchin'" House said and began to strum quietly.

"Well, I thought since I kidnapped and then dismantled your guitar a few years back, the least I could was buy you a new one."

"You are alright Wilson, now, open yours." Wilson smiled when he saw House got him a check for five thousand dollars.

"Thanks House, you have finally paid me back for the motorcycle you bought, _five years ago._" House shrugged,

"Where's Kim's engagement ring?" Wilson furrowed his eyebrows.

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Come on Wilson, you gave wife number one a ring on Valentine's Day, wife number two a ring on New Years, and finally my least favorite wife number three a ring on Hanukkah. And that brings me to my question, where is her ring?"

"I was going to give her a ring, but I saw how excited you were to give Cuddy her gift and I figured you were going to give her an engagement ring."

"You manipulative bitch," House said and punched Wilson on the shoulder. Wilson laughed,

"Well, you know, there's always Valentine's Day right?" Cuddy poked her head into the living room.

"If you ladies are done chatting, Greg, can you give Emma her bottle? Dinner is going to be ready in a few minutes." House sighed, and went to the fridge to grab the bottle. Wilson grabbed Emma from her crib and handed her over to House. Wilson watched in awe as House fed Emma a bottle and rocked her to sleep.

"Wow, you are really good at this whole parenting thing."

"Shut up, Wilson, it's not that hard, all you have to is shut the kid up."

"I HEARD THAT!" Cuddy yelled from the kitchen.

"LOVE YOU CUDDLES!" House yelled back. Wilson rolled his eyes at the pair.

"God, will you two just have sex already!" Wilson groaned.

"We did before you two came, in the exact same spot you are sitting in now." House wagged his eyebrows mischievously. Wilson shot up from the couch in a blink of an eye.

"You jackass, you made me spill my beer!" House scoffed,

"By now you should know Cuddy and I do it everywhere in this house, it's seen more action than a strip joint. We have a kid!"

"DINNER'S READY!" Kim yelled into the living room. House and Wilson got up and walked into the dining room.

"So, Cuddy tells me you got her a promise ring?" Kim said, to break the ice.

"Yeah, I want to marry her, just not right now." House whispered. Cuddy put her hand on his knee in support.

"Did you hear what I got House, Cuddy?" Wilson asked to switch subjects. House took the distraction readily,

"Wilson got me a flying V guitar!"

"Wasn't that the one you kidnapped like three years ago?" Cuddy asked.

"Yeah, and House finally repaid my his tab of five thousand dollars." Wilson smiled.

"Don't be too happy Wilson, I am determined to rack up a bigger tab next year." Wilson and Cuddy rolled their eyes, "they are going to stick like that if you keep rolling your eyes like that." Kim smirked,

"Is this what you guys do when you two hang out? Banter and insult each other?" House, Cuddy, and Wilson all nodded simultaneously.

"Are you offended?" House asked.

"No, I was going to ask if I could join in," Kim snarked.

"As my Chrismukkah present to you I will let you insult Wilson for me."

"How generous of you," Kim snapped.

"Merry Chrismukkah Wilson's bimbo and Wilson." House said raising his beer.

"Merry Chrismukkah Cuddy and Gimp," Kim said and they all clinked their glasses together.

**A/N 2: I will end it there. I am jumping ahead quite a bit, to Emma's first birthday. (Which is in the middle of September.) What will House and Cuddy do to celebrate their little girls first birthday? Review and you will find out.**


	14. They Say It's Your Birthday

**A/N: Happy New Year! I just want to mention a few things I always forget. First, Emma and Kim are mine; please don't steal them from me. Second, I would put PFC late season 5, or early season 6 even though House still takes Vicodin. Please read, review and enjoy chapter fourteen.**

**Chapter Fourteen- They Say It's Your Birthday**

Cuddy's universe has been turned upside down in the past year. To the birth of her first child with House in September, the disastrous Thanksgiving trip, House's promise ring surprise at Christmas, Wilson's predictable proposal to Kim on Valentine's Day, from Wilson and Kim's wedding just last month. Now, Emma was turning one next week. Emma is Cuddy's pride and joy. Luckily, she has her parents' intelligence, and her father's eyes. Much to House's pleasure, Emma picks up words quickly, as they found out when Emma said "fuck!" while Cuddy was changing her diaper last week. _I skinned him alive for that one, _Cuddy mused as she was signing off on House's latest insane procedure.

_Speak of the devil,_ Cuddy thought to herself as House barged into her office. Cuddy wordlessly handed him the consent form as he sat down.

"Thanks Cuddles, I knew you would say yes to deep brain stimulation." Cuddy's eyes grew wide,

"The form says a brain biopsy; there is no way in hell…"

"Relax, I was just kidding, we already did that yesterday." Cuddy opened her mouth to yell, but she could tell he was kidding by his smug grin. "Isn't the rugrats' birthday next week?" Cuddy softly smiled, she elated that he remembered his daughter's birthday; sometimes he can't even remember his own.

"Yes, I was hoping we could have a party this Saturday to celebrate," House made a face, and attempted to respond only to be cut off by his pager.

"Damn, we will continue this later," House walked to the door, "THANKS FOR THE AFTERNOON DELIGHT!" he yelled out into the clinic. Kim smirked, she was fascinated by House and Cuddy's relationship, though she was happy she married House's better half.

"Dada!" Emma yelled and reached her chubby little arms for House. Marina, the nanny, handed Emma to House and left. House tousled her ebony ringlets and limped into the kitchen.

"Dada? Mama?" Emma questioned, and mirrored Cuddy's worried expression perfectly.

"Mommy is busy working her well-formed butt off and has ordered me to feed you and start dinner. What do you want kid?" House set Emma down in her highchair. He began cooking spaghetti for him and Cuddy and macaroni and cheese for Emma. A half an hour later Cuddy came in, and sat down at the table as House was finishing dinner.

"Mama!" Emma shrieked and gave Cuddy a slobbery kiss.

"Okay, get your delicious dinner while it's hot." House said, grabbed his plate of spaghetti and sat down. Cuddy grabbed her and Emma's dinner and sat back down.

"As I was saying earlier, I think we should have the party Saturday." House sighed, he always hated parties.

"Fine, as long as it's s small get together and not too long also, no parents."

"Greg, it's their granddaughter's first birthday, I have to invite our parent's."

"Lisa, do you really want both our families coming? If they come, they will never leave."

"I'll call and invite them, but I'm pretty sure my parents have something going this weekend."

"Which is why you were so adamant we had the party this weekend, right?" Cuddy shrugged,

"You never know, they might cancel their plans to spend time with their granddaughter." House rolled his eyes,

"Mmhmm, sure they will. All I have to do is invite my team and Wilson." Cuddy was surprised,

"The team? That's awfully nice of you to invite the team to a one-year-olds birthday party."

"I overheard Chase betting with Foreman over the party. Apparently if I invite the whole team, including the soon-to-be ex-Mrs. Taub, Foreman has to show up _and_ get Emma a gift of Chase's choice." Cuddy rolled her eyes; of course House would only do something nice for his benefit.

"Fine, invite your team, but please Greg behave, it's a special day for Emma."

"I know Cuddles; if I behave can I get some sexual favors?"

"House!" Cuddy yelled, appalled he would mention it in front of Emma.

"Hows!" Emma repeated, much to Cuddy's pleasure.

"Oh, Lisa, she doesn't know what I'm talking about. Wait until she's older and I will tell her all about how she was made."

"You better not, unless you want to mysteriously die the next day." House feigned terror.

"Come on munchkin, time for bed, daddy needs his alone time with mommy." House picked up Emma and walked into the nursery, gently setting her down in the crib.

The next week flew by as Cuddy was scrambling to get all the preparations in order for Saturday. Luckily for House, both sets of parents couldn't make it for the party. Cuddy's parents are leaving for a cruise Saturday morning and House's parents didn't want to drive down to New Jersey for only a day. Foreman was pissed House invited him because of the bet he had with Chase. Wilson was ecstatic when he heard about the party and immediately ran to the nearest toy store to splurge on "crap Emma doesn't need", according to House. And, "a lovely gift for my special goddaughter", according to Wilson.

"Greg, can you change Emma? The guests will be here soon." Cuddy called from the kitchen. House checked his watch and saw that Cuddy was right. He had thirty minutes of freedom before the team and Wilson along with Kim, barged into his home.

"Damn," House mumbled incoherently and walked into the nursery. House was in the midst of changing a very stubborn Emma when Wilson and Kim came strolling through the front door. Wilson set his gift on the decorated dining room table while Kim left to go help Cuddy solve the cake debacle.

"Hey House, where are you?" Wilson called out.

"In the munchkin's room!" House called back. Wilson stepped into the sight of House holding the diaper out in front of him while he limped over to the trash can.

"Ah, the joys of fatherhood," Wilson quipped.

"Never have one of these Wilson, they will corrupt you."

"House!" Wilson chastised.

"Hows!" Emma yelled from the diaper changing station. Wilson couldn't help but laugh at how Emma sounded exactly like Cuddy when she said that.

"Why are you here so early anyway? The party doesn't start for another half an hour."

"I wanted to get here before everyone else came to tell you that I am going to be a dad!" Wilson said, his voice bubbled with excitement.

"What?"

**A/N: Okay, I am going to break up the party into two chapters. Next chapter, House and Cuddy will have very different reactions to Kim's pregnancy and what did Foreman get Emma? Reviews are always appreciated!**


	15. Birthday Girl

**A/N: Thank you for all the kind reviews, they attribute to the writing process. This chapter is going to be short, but I promise the next one will be a lot longer and will be updated faster.**

**Chapter Fifteen- Birthday Girl**

"_I wanted to get here before everyone else came to tell you that I am going to be a dad!" Wilson said, his voice bubbled with excitement._

"_What?"_ House was going to be honest, that was the last thing he expected Wilson to say.

"Kim's pregnant, she's due in May." House walked to Emma's closet to grab the outfit Cuddy laid out for him.

"Wow Wilson, I didn't think you had it in you." Wilson scowled.

"What is that supposed to mean?" House ignored Wilson for a second while he put Emma's shirt on her.

"Do you want me to tell you that having a kid is the best thing that will happen to you? Well, it's not."

"House!"

"Hows!" Emma screeched.

"Careful Wilson, she is like a parrot. What I meant to say, was Cuddy is the best thing that happened to me, Emma just happened to come along with her."

"Don't let Cuddy hear you say that, she would withhold sex from you for years."

"Don't be ridiculous, I love the munchkin and Cuddy can't resist me. Enjoy Kim's expanding jugs while you can. And be prepared for midnight runs to the grocery store." Meanwhile Kim and Cuddy were gushing about Kim's newfound pregnancy.

"So, how did you tell Wilson?" Kim smiled at the memory.

"I made him his favorite dinner, and just told him, he was so excited."

"Great, when I told House he just went mute and stared at me for ten minutes. How far along are you?"

"About a month or so, I am due in late May."

"Congratulations, Kim I am so happy for you and Wilson."

"Thanks, I just hope Wilson can handle me when I get hormonal." Cuddy laughed,

"I once punched House in the arm to get a cheeseburger," Kim joined in on the laughter,

"Seriously? How did he react?" Cuddy was trying to speak through her giggling,

"There was nothing House could do, I was six months pregnant with his child, and he knew I was going to kill him if he tried to take it from me."

"Wilson is easier than House, so I should be able to get my food when I'm hungry." A knock on the door interrupted Kim and Cuddy's conversation.

"COME ON IN, IT'S OPEN!" Cuddy yelled. Chase, Foreman and Thirteen walked into the kitchen.

"Where can we put these?" Thirteen said indicating the presents. Cuddy pointed to a coffee table in the living room. Thirteen collected hers, Foreman's and Chase's and carefully set them down on the table along with House and Cuddy's and Wilson's and Kim's.

"So, where is the birthday girl?" Chase said in his signature Australian accent.

"Right here," House said limping in with Emma who was dressed in a pink ruffle dress with her hair pulled back with a pink bowtie.

"Emma, you are so pretty!" Cuddy cooed, taking Emma from House and walked into the living room to show her the presents. Fifteen minutes later Taub and his wife Rachel walked through the front door.

"Hi Taub and Rachel, food is in the kitchen and you can put your gift in the living room." Rachel handed the gift to Taub and took Emma from Cuddy.

"She's so cute, isn't she Chris?" Rachel said to Taub, who made a face.

"Yeah, Chris, isn't she cute?" House mocked.

"House!" Cuddy yelled.

"Hows!" Emma mimicked, to which everyone laughed.

"She sounds just like you when she says that, Cuddy," Thirteen said. Cuddy smiled affectionately at Emma and took her back from Rachel. Emma started crying and buried her head into Cuddy's chest.

"Emma's just hungry; I'll cut up some bananas."

"I got it, Cuddy, put Emma into her high chair." Thirteen suggested. Cuddy dropped Emma into her high chair and gives her the sippy cup. An hour later, Cuddy called everyone into the kitchen so they can eat cake. Cuddy led the happy birthday and placed the cake in front of Emma so she could blow out the candle. Emma was confused, and looked at her parents for support.

"Go like this, Emma," Thirteen said with encouragement and blew air towards the candle. Instead, Emma grabbed the flame with her finger and started crying. House and Wilson burst out laughing, but were quickly stunned into silence by Cuddy and Kim's death glares.

"They got that look down to a science," Wilson whispered to House while everyone else was tending to Emma.

"Just wait until Kim goes into labor that 'look' will multiply along with multiple threats against your genitals." House whispers back to Wilson.

"Kim, wouldn't be that bad, don't be so dramatic," House scoffed,

"Really? You were there with Cuddy and I when Emma was born. I couldn't move my hand for a week after. Just wait Wilson; I am sure Kim is stronger than you think."

"Hey, boys, sorry to cut into your tea party, but do you want any cake?" Kim asked, holding out two pieces of chocolate birthday cake. House and Wilson yanked it from Kim and devoured the cake.

"You guys are pathetic," Kim said and started eating her own piece. After the cake was eaten and cleaned up, everybody moved into the living room for presents.

"Okay, Emma, which one do you open first?" Thirteen asked. Emma climbed off of Cuddy's lap to carefully scrutinize her gifts. Emma pointed to a big box wrapped in pink. Cuddy grabbed the box and put Emma back into her lap.

"This is from Taub and Rachel," Cuddy announced and tore into the box to reveal a shopping cart. "Thank you, guys," Cuddy said. Emma got wooden blocks from Thirteen, college money from Foreman, Leapfrog learn and grove music table from Chase, Leapfrog magnetic fridge farm set from Wilson and Kim, and a toy chest from House and Cuddy. Following the opening of the gifts everyone left.

"What did you think of the party?" Cuddy asked House later after they put Emma to bed.

"I thought the best part was when our brilliant daughter grabbed the candle."

"I never should have put that candle in front of her, she's one." House smiled and tightened his grip around Cuddy.

"Lisa, don't worry about it, Emma didn't die, she just burned herself a bit." Cuddy nodded,

"I can't believe Kim is pregnant, that is so great." Cuddy whispered into House's chest.

"Wilson is going to turn into an even bigger girl," Cuddy giggled,

"Maybe if Kim has a boy…"

"I'm going to stop you right there, Emma is not having a boyfriend until she is thirty." House felt Cuddy grin against his torso.

"I love you, but you are going to have to let her go eventually."

"She just turned one, relax."

"This is the part where you say I love you too."

"I love you too," House said and kissed her forehead.

"That's right, did you know Valentine's Day is only 5 months away?" House shook his head.

"Really? I didn't know that."

**A/N 2: That is all, I hope you enjoyed Emma's birthday. I got Emma's idea with the candle from my brother. Anyway, next chapter is Valentine's Day. What is House going to do for Cuddy? Reviews are going to lead to faster updates as always. Thanks!**


	16. Be Mine?

**A/N: As always, thanks for all your wonderful reviews, they brighten my day. I love writing for you guys, it helps me unwind from stressful days. Anyway, I hope you take pleasure in this new chapter.**

**Chapter Sixteen- Be Mine?**

"Wilson, I need you to take Emma for Wednesday," House said, walking into Wilson's office.

"House, Wednesday is Valentine's Day, I have a wife." Wilson said and signed a file.

"Your wife is six months pregnant with twins; I don't think she is going to want to go out." Wilson sighed; he always hated to admit when House was right.

"Great, now that I have a babysitter, I will let you in on my convoluted scheme," House pulled a black box out of his suit coat and set it on Wilson's desk.

"Is…that…what…I…think…it…is?" Wilson did his classic frazzled look. Wilson opened the box and scrutinized the ring. House snatched it out of Wilson's hands,

"It's a ring, don't breathe on it. I am taking Cuddy out for dinner at her favorite restaurant, propose to her, then we will go home and have celebratory sex." Wilson smirked,

"And you know you will get laid, because?" House sneered,

"Hello, it's me, and you know Cuddy can't resist me, especially since I am giving her my grandma's ring. Anyway, I am dropping Emma off at about six, so I can set up and tell Cuddy to be there at seven. If you breathe a syllable to Cuddy about a ring or dinner, I'll tell Kim about the time you got drunk and called a hooker. We now don't want to have another divorce on our hands do we?" Wilson shook his head, and House walked out headed for the clinic.

"Good morning, Dr. Cuddlemuffin," House stormed into Cuddy's office and took a seat. Cuddy dropped her pen, and leaned over her desk to turn her full attention to House.

"Can I help you with something or have you just come into here to grace me with your presence?"

"My patient needs a new heart," House stated, and passed her the chart. Cuddy took the chart and flipped through it.

"Valentine's Day is Wednesday," Cuddy said nonchalantly. House pretended to be stunned.

"Seriously? I didn't know a pointless made up holiday designed to boost America's economy with stupid cards and meaningless gifts was this Wednesday." House pretended to lay it on thick to throw Cuddy off her trail. Cuddy dropped the patient's chart and gave House a thunderous look.

"Okay, fine, we could just pretend Valentine's Day is like any other day," Cuddy tried to put on a brave face, but inside House was tearing her apart. _Gotcha! _House was cheering within; he knew his idea would work. All he had to wait for was Cuddy to throw him out, and he could successfully put his plans into motion. "I will put your patient on the donor list and call a meeting for this afternoon; don't you have clinic hours to do?" House nodded and sauntered out with a smug grin on his face. Cuddy successfully stepped right into House's trap.

After leaving Cuddy's office, House decided to skip the clinic and go back into Wilson's.

"Can I help you with something…again?" Wilson mumbled, as House sat back down into his favorite seat.

"Everything is all set for Wednesday; Cuddy fell right into my trap." Wilson scrunched his busy eyebrows together.

"What do you mean, trap?"

"I convinced her that I refused to celebrate Valentine's Day because it's pointless holiday designed to boost our failing economy."

"And she didn't haul you out on your ass?"

"I knew Cuddy would do her signature passive aggressive, 'I am going to pretend not to care, but in reality I care so much I could die'. And then she threw me out pretending that I had clinic hours to do, which I really do, but she knew I wasn't going to do them."

"Cleary you two have a healthy, functioning relationship." Wilson quipped.

"Yeah well, we were never functional and healthy to begin with. I have to go Wilson, I am my patient is going to drop dead soon, so I have to go. I'll drop Emma off about six on Wednesday, see you."

Over the next two days House was busy setting up plans for Wednesday. He made reservations at _Bella_, the best Italian restaurant in New Jersey, rented a fancy suit, and packed Emma's suitcase for her night at Wilson's.

The day of was a hectic day for House. He left the hospital at four in to make sure everything goes according to plan for his special night with Cuddy. The first stop was the florist to pick up a bouquet of salmon colored roses, her favorite flower. Then, he drove to _Bella_ to make sure his reservation was still locked in for tonight. Third, he drove home to get dressed and drop Emma at Wilson's.

Back at the hospital, Cuddy was silently fuming at House. All day, she has heard various nurses and doctors gossip about what they are doing or have done for Valentines. Cuddy was happy to spend Valentines with Emma and House, she really was, but the fact that House refuses to acknowledge the holiday pisses her off. As usual, when House irritates her in one form or another, she dives head first into work. Today is no exception, back to back board meetings and lunch with a donor consumes her schedule for the day. At six o' clock Cuddy gets a surprise phone call from the board demanding an immediate session.

Cuddy was happy to be offered a distraction from a sour mood and walked into the board meeting, not before accidentally leaving her black berry on her desk. House arrives a little early for once in his life and is seated at a table, while Cuddy is knee deep in listening to a donor, Mr. Kelly's, suspected "crisis" about how his son has the sniffles and needs to see Dr. House immediately. Cuddy spends the next three hours explaining to Mr. Kelly that House is very selective about the cases he takes, and if his son needs immediate medical care, he should go to the E.R. Finally, at ten o' clock, the board has decided to end the meeting only if Cuddy will make House see Mr. Kelly's son in the morning, which will never happen.

A fatigued Cuddy makes her way back to her office, surprise to see her black berry sitting on top of her desk. _Funny, I could have sworn it was in my skirt pocket_, Cuddy thought to herself. Regardless, she checked it anyway and was astounded to see a text and several calls from House on her phone. Cuddy clicked on the text and guilt overcame her with each passing word.

** Dear Lisa,**

**You honestly thought I would forget Valentine's Day? You are so silly Cuddles. Anyway, I made reservations at **_**Bella**_** at seven and dropped the munchkin off at Wilson's. Wear the lowest dress in your closet and meet me there.**

** Love,**

** Greg**

As soon as Cuddy read the last word, she bolted from her chair and flew out the door. Luckily, there wasn't much traffic and Cuddy pulled into a parking spot in front of _Bella_ at approximately ten thirty. Cuddy climbed out her car and ran into the restaurant. She scanned the crowd for House, but it didn't matter, he was already gone.

**A/N 2: That is it for right now people! Please don't skin me alive for this; I felt things were a little **_**too**_** perfect for House and Cuddy. Don't worry I will fix this, but how? Review and you will find out before you know it!**


	17. Repairing the Damage?

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for all your reviews! I was so happy I got eleven! Anyway, I promised I will fix this and I will, just not right away. I will stop rambling and let you read the next chapter. Language warning is in effect for this chapter and possibly the next.**

**Chapter Seventeen- Repairing the Damage?**

_Cuddy climbed out of her car and ran into the restaurant. She scanned the crowd for House, but it didn't matter, he was already gone._

"Can I help you mam?" the hostess asked Cuddy. Cuddy shook her head and jogged out of _Bella_. She could feel her eyes misting up as she was heading to Wilson.

"WILSON! WILSON! OPEN UP!" Cuddy screamed and pounded on Wilson's door. Wilson opened the door and glared at Cuddy.

"Cuddy, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with House?" Cuddy frantically shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"What happened?"

"The board called an emergency meeting and I left my black berry on my desk. When I came back to my office I saw House's text. I went to the restaurant and it was too late Wilson, he was already gone." Wilson sighed and rubbed his forehead. "It's bad, but I had to tell you and I was wondering if you knew where he was."

"Cuddy, you know House, he's gone to get drunk. Just go home, get drunk and apologize to him tomorrow." Cuddy nodded and tried to regain composure.

"Okay, I can take Emma home now."

"No, it's late and you are guilty and upset, do not put your daughter at risk."

"Put my daughter at risk? I am driving ten minutes to my house."

"Cuddy, you know I'm right, go home and pick Emma up on the way to work." Cuddy relented and went back to her car, leaving Wilson confused and shocked at the doorstep.

Three days have passed since Valentine's Day. House has successfully avoided Cuddy for three days by getting the team to get sign off on his procedures. Each night Cuddy goes home to Emma trying to explain to her one year old that her daddy's not coming home because her mommy hurt him. And each night House went to a different bar, got wasted and then crashed at Wilson's.

"Cuddy you have to talk to House," Wilson said, barging into her office. Cuddy sighed and ran her hands through her hair.

"He doesn't want to talk to me anymore Wilson. You know how stubborn he is, if he doesn't want to listen, he won't."

"Cuddy, I can't take it anymore, I have a wife who is pregnant with twins, my twins, I can't take care of him when he is too drunk to stand anymore."

"Wilson, I know you are upset and I know it's my fault, but I am not going to force him to forgive me. I will talk to him, but I'm not promising anything okay?" Wilson nodded sympathetically; he knew Cuddy was going to do the best she possibly could. Cuddy got up from her chair and brushed past Wilson and walked into House's office. House and his team looked shocked to see Cuddy determinedly stride into his office.

"House we need to talk," Cuddy said.

"No, we don't, I am working like you were Wednesday night." House felt a little better when he saw how guilty Cuddy looked.

"House, please," Cuddy whispered. House and the team were surprised, Cuddy never got emotional at work. Everyone but House and occasionally Wilson knew Cuddy as the cold hearted dean. House dropped the patient's folder on the table and joined Cuddy in his inner office.

"House I am so sorry about Valentine's Day, I had an emergency meeting with a donor and I left my phone on my desk." House scoffed,

"You honestly expect me to believe you left your phone on your desk. You are the dean of medicine you can't function two feet away from your black berry."

"House I am not making excuses, I am telling you what happened, so for once I am saying sorry." Cuddy turned around and walked out.

"I was going to propose," House mumbled, Cuddy's eyes misted up and walked back in.

"You…you…were going to propose?" Cuddy wiped a tear from her eyes and looked up at House.

"I had it all planned out, but you didn't show. You always told me to put myself out there to open up and when I finally do, you just…didn't show up." House never looked so broken, so damaged and Cuddy felt terrible.

"House, I am so, so, sorry,"

"I don't want to propose to you anymore,"

"What?" Cuddy squeaked out, frantically wiping away tears, trying to maintain some level of professionalism.

"Your mom was right; you put your work ahead of Emma and me. How are we going to work if you are married to your job instead of me?" Cuddy felt anger build up inside her and slapped House across the face.

"Fuck you, I made the effort to come up here and apologize and you always manage to blow it up in my face. I love you and I want to marry you, and I love my work and you don't get to punish me for that."

"It doesn't matter anymore Cuddy, were done." Cuddy felt a new batch of tears coming on and she ran out. An hour later Wilson came into House's office, ready to slap him silly.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?" Wilson roared.

"Me? What do you mean?" House asked.

"Oh, don't play dumb with me; Cuddy is refusing to come out of her office. She made a mistake and she apologized for it, why can't you forgive her?"

"I realized that we weren't going to work. She is just too involved here at the hospital."

"Don't give me that bullshit. You are just sad because there was a possibility for happiness and once again you got screwed. Guess what House? Grow up; you are acting like she rejected you, which she didn't. Are you really going to throw Cuddy and your daughter away?"

"Don't give me that damn voice of reason. Stop acting like you are Cuddy's white knight and I am the evil bastard who broke her heart. She broke mine."

"Stop pitying yourself, she gave you the chance to be happy and you threw it in her face. Now either go down to her office and forgive her or move out and never talk to her again." House nodded and limped out of the office.

Several hours later, House was hysterically pacing around Wilson's apartment thinking about him and Cuddy. The phone echoed throughout the house and he heard Wilson answer it. House went back to pondering, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"House, open the door, "House opened the door and yanked the phone from Wilson's hands.

"Somebody better be dying," House snapped into the phone.

"House," Cuddy hoarsely whispered into the phone.

"Cuddy? What's wrong?" House cursed himself for sounding so concerned.

"Emma's sick, House, I need you. House didn't respond and hang up the phone. He hurriedly limped past Wilson and got into his motorcycle heading for his former place.

**A/N: I'm sorry; it would be too long and complex if I put into one chapter. Have no fear, I have the next chapter all planned out and they will get back together. Reviews always contribute to faster chapters. Thanks!**


	18. Finding Forgiveness

**A/N: Thank you so much for all your reviews! You guys are amazing! Last night's episode was hilarious! I wish Cuddy's mom could stick around some more. Anyway, enjoy chapter eighteen.**

**Chapter Eighteen- Finding Forgiveness**

_"Emma's sick, House, I need you. House didn't respond and hang up the phone. He hurriedly limped past Wilson and got into his motorcycle heading for his former place._

House anxiously knocked on the door and Cuddy opened it right away.

"Where is she?" House asked without even bothering to say hi. Cuddy moved out of the doorway and walked into Emma's nursery with House following close behind. House walked over to Emma and gingerly sat in a chair across from the crib.

"Daddy?" Emma hoarsely whispered and stood up in her crib. House tossed aside Emma's curls and felt her forehead to find she was burning up. He also noted swollen eyelids and a rash.

"When did you notice something was wrong?" House turned to Cuddy who was standing behind him.

"I made her macaroni and cheese for dinner and I kept calling her into the kitchen. Finally, I went into the living room to find her asleep on the couch."

"Do you want to try and see if she can eat?" Cuddy nodded,

"Emma, do you want mommy to fix some bananas?" House softly asked his daughter.

"Daddy, no!" Emma whined. House added irritability to the mental whiteboard.

"It's roseola," House stated. Cuddy nodded in understanding.

"The nanny brought her daughter over to play with Emma a few days ago, that's probably how she got it."

"We need to take her temperature, get her fluids, some children's Motrin and let her sleep." House said in a detached tone. Cuddy left the room and returned with a thermometer, juice and a vial of pediatric Motrin. House stuck the thermometer in Emma's here and gave her the sippy cup to drink from. Emma was eagerly chugging away at her juice when the thermometer beeped in her ear.

"103, that's not too bad," House said and exchanged the thermometer for the Motrin. He took the juice from Emma and gave her a couple drops of the medicine into her mouth then returned the juice back to her. "All you need to do now is monitor overnight in case of any febrile seizures." House said and stood up.

"All _I _need to do?" Cuddy asked in disbelief. _When I called him over here I expected him to stay and help. Not diagnose and run, like he does at work._ Cuddy thought silently.

"It's 25 cent wing night at Big Wang's!" House deflected. Cuddy rolled her eyes,

"House, she's your daughter and she's sick, I would guess that overwrites your commitment to disgusting meat." House's shoulders sagged, he knew he should have never come here in the first place.

"You are a doctor too," House shot back, but he knew it was in vain.

"Not according to your standards. House just for one night, we don't have to talk if you don't want to, but it would make me feel better if I knew you were here with Emma," _And with me_, the unspoken thought rung in Cuddy's head. House shrugged off his coat and set his cane on the couch,

"Fine, if I _must_ stay, I will, just know that you are wasting a perfectly good night of wings."

"I can't imagine how, but I think I can live with it." Cuddy went back into the nursery to check on Emma who was sleeping soundly. House sat down on the couch and watched some TV. From the nursery Cuddy then went to the kitchen to grab some drinks for her and House.

"I was afraid," House randomly blurted out during an episode of _The Real Housewives of New Jersey._

"Afraid of what?" Cuddy asked and muted the TV.

"On Valentine's Day, I was afraid you were going to say no. And when you didn't show up, that proved it to me."

"House, just because I didn't come didn't automatically mean I was going to say no. I had no idea that you were going to propose until you said something in your office earlier today."

"Wilson didn't say anything when you went to his house that night?"

"No, I could tell it was something big by the way he was acting, but he didn't tell me what you had planned." House slightly smiled, times like these he was grateful for his best friend.

"I guess it doesn't matter anymore," House said softly, to which Cuddy hung her head. House and Cuddy went back to watching TV silently until House muted it again.

"Hey Cuddy?"

"What House?"

"Can I move back in with you?" Cuddy met his eyes in a mix of shock and happiness.

"Where did this come from?"

"First, I hate living in pregnant land over at Wilson's. Second, I think I have tortured you enough and I know you won't ever do it again. Third, I miss sex…with you!" Cuddy smiled, typical House, he can't even say he forgives her. All the same, Cuddy would love to have him back.

"Hey I was pregnant once!"

"No comment,"

"Shut up, anyway thank you for _forgiving me_ and I am sorry I have deprived you from sex for…four days! Seriously, House, four days?"

"Blame my gender. Anyway, I will get my crap from Wilson's tomorrow; he will be so happy that I am leaving so he could focus on the whale."

"House! That's your best friend's wife you are talking about, be nice." Cuddy grinned she was so ecstatic to be bantering with House again; she has missed it these past few days.

"I have told you before; I don't do nice, except to you and Emma, occasionally." Cuddy smirked,

"Really? You don't do nice, huh? I seem to remember you calling Emma sweetie last week when you were reading her bedtime story."

"You eavesdropped on our 'special bonding time', stalker."

"Ha! I see you aren't denying it!"

"Isn't it time to go to sleep? Some of us actually have to work in the morning you know." Cuddy let him off the hook for that one, for now. She was exhausted after dealing with a sick toddler all afternoon.

"Fine, goodnight House," Cuddy hated calling him House at home, but she decided to not push it for right now, she didn't want him to retreat.

"Night Cuddy," House gave her a kiss on the forehead before passing out on the couch.

The next day, House barged into Wilson's office looking noticeably happier.

"Wow, House smiling, this is a rare occurrence. I assume you forgave Cuddy?" Wilson asked.

"Yeah, it turns out all I had to do was ask her to move back in."

"Wait, you actually didn't tell you forgave her?"

"What does it matter? I'm moving back in and I get to use what happened at Valentine's Day for future arguments."

"Nice one."

"I'll be over later to pick up my crap from your house." House stated and briskly walked out. On his way home from "work" House stopped by Wilson's to see Kim already packed his stuff and had it laying by the door for him. House grinned like a Cheshire cat; this was Kim's passive aggressive way of telling House to get the hell out. After Wilson's, House rushed home to relieve the nanny and start cooking salmon for him and Cuddy. While the salmon was cooking, House tried unsuccessfully to feed Emma, he just ended up giving her Children's Motrin before she down for bed. Cuddy came home an hour later and wrapped her arms around House's waist.

"Mmm, that smells so good," Cuddy untangled her arms, grabbed her plate and sat down at the table. They ate in comfortable silence with Cuddy telling her stories about the ridiculous donors coming through her hospital. Following the plates being cleaned up, House and Cuddy were relaxing together on the couch.

"Let's watch a movie," Cuddy announced. House nodded,

"Anything but a chick flick, please, I watched enough of those at Wilson's." Cuddy laughed her deep throaty laugh,

"How about _The Hangover_?"

"That's good, can you get it?" Cuddy got off the couch and House took that opportunity to place the box with the ring showing in her place. Cuddy came back and saw the ring gleam in the light.

"House, what is this?" Cuddy said in awe and picked the ring up.

"Funny, I think that's what people call a ring, Cuddy."

"I know what it is smartass, what is it doing here?" House grabbed the ring out of Cuddy's hand.

"Lisa Cuddy, I have known you for over twenty years and I have no idea what possessed you to choose me as your partner. Not only that, but create a demon spawn with me. So, I am asking you, because I love you, will you marry me?" Cuddy could feel the tears cascade down her ivory skin as she was trying to answer House back.

"Of course, I will and I love you too." Cuddy stole the ring back and put in on the appropriate finger. Then, Cuddy grabbed House and pulled him into a passionate kiss. A few seconds passed and House felt someone pinch his ass.

"Ow, woman what was that for?"

"That was for calling our daughter a demon spawn."

**A/N: Longest chapter yet! I hope you enjoyed another installment of PFC. Next chapter, you will see how the different reactions to House and Cuddy's engagement. Also, a really terrible thing happens in the hospital, can you guess what it is?**


	19. Haven't You Heard?

**A/N: Hello, again! Thanks for your wonderful reviews; I appreciate every single one of them. I am imposing a language and violence (?) warning for the next few chapters. For now, enjoy chapter nineteen of **_**Prepare for Complications**_**.**

**Chapter Nineteen- Haven't You Heard?**

Lisa Cuddy burst through the double doors of Princeton Plainsboro with a permanent grin etched onto her face. After all, what's not to be happy about? House finally made the first move and proposed to her. I'm sure Wilson pushed him into doing it, but this time, Cuddy didn't even care.

"Excuse me, Dr. Cuddy?" A fresh-faced nurse nervously asked. Cuddy forced herself to wipe the smile of her face and act like a professional.

"Yes, Tammy, what do you need?" Cuddy asked the nurse. Tammy handed Cuddy a scarlet file from the clinic and a ballpoint pen. Cuddy walked over to the nurses' station and quickly scrawled her signature on the bottom line of the chart. Cuddy handed it back to Tammy whose eyes were the size of hubcaps. "Is there a problem, Tammy?"

"Congratulations on the engagement, Dr. Cuddy," Tammy squeaked out. Cuddy swore silently under her breath, she meant to hide the ring in her pocket, before she walked into work.

"Thank you, please go back to work now," Cuddy uttered and turned swiftly on her heels, briskly walking back to her office.

"The liver is like a cruise ship taking on water. As it starts to sink, it sends out an SOS…" House was in the middle of diagnosing the patient through one of his infamous metaphors when the beeping of pagers echoed in the conference room. _Drs' House and Cuddy are engaged, _splashed across the screen. Thirteen and Foreman grinned while Chase was expressionless and Taub frowned.

"What did I miss? Did the news of Taub's divorce finally get around?" House mocked. Thirteen shook her head,

"You proposed to Cuddy?" House sighed,

"Yes, now I see why Taub is so upset. Sorry Taub, Cuddy can't be your rebound. Although, I'm sure Chase can hook you up with an STD."

"It's about time you and Cuddy finally got engaged, I was about to think you two broke up." Foreman said happily.

"Nope, Cuddy and I are going to get hitched, you think she would go for a naked wedding? Ask her on your way out. Oh, and if you aren't too busy, give the patient some antibiotics, she's got viral hepatitis." The team nodded and shuffled out, "Foreman, hold on a second." Foreman furrowed his brow but followed House into the inner office.

"What's up?" Foreman asked.

"You seem to be genuinely happy about Cuddy and I, why?"

"The further you and Cuddy are in your relationship, the less of an ass you are."

"No, that's not it, the way I see it is, you see yourself as me. Your rational is, if I, who is a misanthropic cripple, can find happiness, anyone can, including you. Am I right?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about House. I am happy for you and Cuddy."

"Okay, Foreman, but next time, say it like you mean it." Foreman shook his head and walked out. Meanwhile, Wilson was sitting at his desk in shock and pure joy. He kept looking at his pager, in disbelief; _surely House would have told me if he was going to propose to Cuddy, right? _Wilson had to get to the bottom of this, so he went directly to Cuddy's office to find out.

"Is it true?" Wilson demanded as he sat down in Cuddy's office. Cuddy frowned, and gave Wilson her ring finger.

"Don't play dumb Wilson; I know you convinced House to propose." Wilson threw his hands up and leaned back in the chair.

"Honestly, I had nothing to do with it. I merely said to House that he should forgive you, but I didn't think he was going to propose to you. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he did, but this time, it was all him." Cuddy was absolutely thrilled; but, she could tell Wilson was hurt that House didn't share the engagement with him first.

"I'm sorry, I assumed you knew. Thank you for being honest with me." Wilson shared a mini smile in return, but he desperately wanted to get out of Cuddy's office and yell at House. "Go talk to him, Wilson." Wilson didn't need to be told again, he burst out of the chair and half ran out of Cuddy's office.

"I think I got you laid tonight," Wilson said and slid in the booth across from House in the cafeteria.

"Before I thank you, why?"

"Cuddy thought that I knew you were going to propose to her last night, which I didn't, and I told her that it was all you. Seriously House, you didn't tell your best and only friend that you were going to propose to your girlfriend?"

"If I told you about what I was planning to do, you would think I went soft. The less I told you, the less of a chance I had of Cuddy finding out. And thanks by the way, when we have sex tonight, I will make sure it is in your honor." Wilson made a face of disgust and ate one of House's fries.

"So, how did you propose?" House rolled his eyes.

"If you want to know so badly, go talk to Cuddy, I'm sure she would love to gossip with you."

"Cuddy is wrapping up a board meeting, just tell me or I will spread around something far more nasty."

"Fine, I told her to go get a movie and when she came back there was a ring sitting in her place. She got all teary eyed, so I gave one of those cliché proposal speeches and she of course accepted."

"That is adorable."

"Shut up, it was either that, or get her in the throes of passion and propose to her then. I figured she would just think it was me having an orgasm, so I just did it the traditional way. Oh, before you go, I am assigning you the task of being my best man. I have done it for you, _four times_, so I thought the least you could do is repay the favor."

"And of course, you asking me if I could be your best man would be too nice for you wouldn't it?" House shrugged and slapped Wilson's hand away after he took another fry.

"I have to go Wilson, I'm sure Cuddy needs to see my beautiful face, before I skip work early." House got up and ventured into Cuddy's office.

"House, what are you doing here?" Cuddy asked. House pretended to be offended,

"I can't see my lovely fiancé, just because I want to?"

"Does that really sound like you?"

"No, you are wearing an exceptionally low top and I wanted to make sure your twins haven't fallen out of it yet."

"How sweet of you, speaking of sweet, Wilson told me what you did all on your own last night."

"I could think of plenty of things I did last night that didn't require Wilson's help." House mischievously wagged his eyebrows.

"I was thinking more along the lines of you proposing without any help from Wilson."

"You talk to Wilson way to much throughout your day. Anyway, you're welcome and I think I deserve an award, right now." Cuddy glanced over at the door to make sure no one was looking and gestured for House to come around the desk. House got up from the chair and slowly, teasingly made his way over to Cuddy. Cuddy couldn't take it anymore; she grabbed House by the shirt collar and passionately kissed him. Suddenly, a golden blonde man barged into Cuddy's office unannounced. Cuddy and House swiftly broke apart and stepped back from each other.

"Sorry to interrupt, Dr. Cuddy, but I'm looking for Dr. House?" The man spoke defiantly.

"What do you want?" House rudely barked. Cuddy glared at him, silently pleading for him to behave.

"I need you to diagnose me," The man ordered, reached into his black canvas satchel and threw a large stack of files on Cuddy's desk.

"Well, I need you to get out of Dr. Cuddy's office, as you saw we were right in the middle of something." House snapped. Cuddy gasped as the man pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at her head. House looked from Cuddy to the blonde-haired man in disbelief.

"If you don't diagnose me, I will kill her. If you do, and the prognosis is fatal, I will kill her before I die. If the police find out about our little game, I will shoot her right in front of you before I kill you. The rules are simple, Dr. House, will you diagnose me, or will you let the love of your life die because of your pride?"

**A/N: Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to a new story arc! Please read and review, it's worth it, I promise. And if you have any ideas, be sure to include them in your review, especially if you guys have a disease for my little friend here. Thanks! **


	20. It's Personal

**A/N: I just wanted to say that I'm sorry I haven't updated in a bit, I had finals and then some family drama. All is well, so please enjoy chapter twenty.**

**Chapter Twenty- It's Personal**

_"If you don't diagnose me, I will kill her. If you do, and the prognosis is fatal, I will kill her before I die. If the police find out about our little game, I will shoot her right in front of you before I kill you. The rules are simple, Dr. House, will you diagnose me, or will you let the love of your life die because of your pride?"_

Cuddy looked away from the gun and directly at House begging for him to comply with this madman's orders. The last thing she wanted to do was become a casualty of House's arrogance.

"What seems to be the problem?"House asked.

"Put your cell phones and pagers on the desk," House and Cuddy complied immediately. "Good, you," The man pointed the gun at House, "pull down the blinds and lock her door." House turned around, walked to the door, locked it and pulled down all the blinds in Cuddy's office. When House turned around and hastily caught the medical files the man threw at him.

"David Croft, you are complaining of joint pain, fever and fatigue. Are you sure you're just tired?" House asked while lightly scanning the file.

"I have seen seven different doctors and not a single one can find out what's wrong with me." David snapped.

"So you come to me with a gun? Gun equals desperation, so I'm guessing that your wife or girlfriend left you because you are obsessed with your non-existing illness." David grabbed the gun on Cuddy's desk, turned the safety off and pointed it at Cuddy.

"We are done talking! Either you diagnose me or this ends now!" David yelled. Cuddy turned away from the gun trying to focus on anything else but the gun pointed at her head.

"Okay, okay, let me call my team and run a differential diagnosis." House mumbled, he was all for screwing with a patient, but he didn't want David to kill Cuddy because he can't control himself. David put the safety on the gun back on and laid it on the desk.

"Put it on speaker, and don't say where you are, or you know what happens." House silently nodded and speed dialed the team from his cell phone.

"House?" Thirteen inquired from the conference room of House's office.

"Put me on speaker and get Foreman, Chase and the small one in here." House ordered. Thirteen pushed the speaker button on the phone and went into House's actual office to grab the other three guys.

"Okay, we are all here House." Thirteen said into the phone.

"Good morning angels, we have a new case. Thirty five year old male presenting with fever, joint pain and fatigue, go!" House bellowed.

"Where are you?" Foreman asked. Cuddy shot House a panicked look, begging him to deflect.

"The CIA, anyway, what do you got for me?" House asked.

"Seriously, House where are you?" Chase reiterated.

"I'm offended you guys don't believe me, the last time I said I was at the CIA, I actually was at the CIA." House said. "So I ask again, what do you have for me."

"Lyme disease," Taub suggested.

"Doesn't cause fatigue, what else?" House asked.

"Osteoarthritis," Thirteen said.

"Only causes joint pain, what else?" House snapped.

"Dengue fever," Foreman thought out loud.

"Have you ever been out of the country?" House asked to David who shook his head no.

"Who are you talking to?" Foreman asked.

"You're mama, she says hello." House deflected, the whole team rolled their eyes.

"Bacterial pneumonia," Taub said into the phone. House shrugged,

"Let's go with that, I'm going to draw some blood, come to the clinic in about five minutes." House ordered and hung up. "I need to go to the clinic and get a blood collection kit."

"No, we," David bobbed his head towards Cuddy, "will go, you get to stay here." House looked at Cuddy who nodded. They left and returned within a minute with a needle and collection vial. House knocked down Cuddy's picture frames and wrote the patient's symptoms on the wall with lipstick.

"Nobody saw anything?" House asked.

"No the clinic was backed up so the nurses were too busy to care." Cuddy said.

"Good, sit down, and make a fist," House said to David. House took David's blood and he ran it out to Foreman.

"House what is going on?" Foreman asked with concern.

"Just run the blood, and give me a call when you get the results," House said and limped back to Cuddy's office. Foreman returned to House's office confused, but ran the sample. An hour later, Wilson barged into House's office looking for House.

"Have any of you guys seen House?"

"I think he has a case," Thirteen said.

"What do you mean you think?" Wilson asked, confused.

"He had us run a differential and a blood sample, but we haven't actually seen the patient yet. House just keeps saying he is at the CIA." Thirteen explained. Wilson scrunched his bushy eyebrows.

"We were supposed to have lunch, I mean he was supposed to come and steal my lunch, but he didn't show up. I haven't seen Cuddy either." Wilson said.

"I saw House in the clinic, when he gave me the blood, but other than that nothing." Foreman said. Wilson nodded and left, dialing House on the way out.

"Inspector Gadget," House answered and put the phone on speaker again.

"House where are you and Cuddy? I haven't seen either of you since this morning." House could tell Wilson was frantic.

"We are having a sex marathon in her office, sorry we didn't invite you, and we thought it would be awkward since we are engaged and all." House snarked, Cuddy rolled her eyes.

"Seriously House, where are you two?"

"Wilson, relax, it's not important, did my team get their results yet?"

"No, not yet,"

"Okay, I have to go," House hung up the phone despite Wilson's protests. Inside his office, Wilson grew more and more alarmed. He knew House was up to something and whatever it was, Cuddy was involved. House deflected more than normal and seemed in a rush to get off the phone.

"Why did you come to House?" Cuddy asked.

"I ran out of options and nobody would believe me, I figured you would." David said.

"Why would I believe you? I still think you are faking it." House said. "And, I think you came to me with a gun because you have a pathetic life and are fixated on your sickness." House, Cuddy and David heard sirens echoing, Cuddy looked out the window to see several squad cards surround the hospital.

"YOU CALLED THE POLICE!" David shouted and started frantically waving his gun around. House and Cuddy looked at each other and shook their heads. David went over to Cuddy and smacked her with the gun. Cuddy fell off her chair and onto the floor, unconscious. House tried to run over to Cuddy but David pointed the gun at him. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill her." House examined David and saw something on his arm.

"Your arm, you have a rash. It's not bacterial pneumonia, I was wrong."

**A/N 2: That is all for now, please forgive me for any medical errors, I try my best not to make any. Reviews are greatly appreciated as well as any ideas you have. A new chapter will be up as soon as possible.**


	21. Damage Control

**A/N: I am terrible at updating, I am so sorry real life has gotten so annoying lately. Anyway, this chapter I am using "Last Resort" as a template, don't be surprised if you see some of the same elements in this chapter. Language warning is still in effect for this chapter, and that is all, enjoy chapter twenty one!**

**Chapter 21- Damage Control**

_"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill her." House examined David and saw something on his arm._

_ "Your arm, you have a rash. It's not bacterial pneumonia, I was wrong."_

"What do you mean you were wrong?" David shouted at House.

"The rash doesn't fit in with bacterial pneumonia therefore I am wrong. Can we move on?" Before David got an answer the phone on Cuddy's desk sprang to life. David picked up the gun again and pointed it at House.

"Pick it up and put it on speaker," House leaned across the desk and pushed the speaker button on the phone.

"Welcome to the happiest place on earth!" House voice drawled in sarcasm. From outside the clinic Wilson and a group of police officers gathered around the phone in the nurse's station.

"Dr. House, this is Captain Baker, who else is in there with you?"

"Just me, Cuddy and Mr. Happy with a gun over here,"

"Is anyone hurt?"

"Dr. Cuddy has a little boo-boo, but other than that everything is just peachy."

"Can I speak to whoever is holding you captive, please?"

"I think he is talking to you," House snarked and looked at David.

"This is David Croft,"

"Mr. Croft, how bad is Dr. Cuddy hurt?"

"She is unconscious, but alive, for now unless you guys come bursting in here."

"Dr. House do you believe Dr. Cuddy requires immediate medical attention?" Captain Baker asked with alarm.

"No, Cuddy will have a headache, but she will be awake in a half an hour."

"Okay, we will maintain our position outside of Dr. Cuddy's office at the nurse's station. Do you need anything Dr. House?"

"Tell my team to be in my office in ten minutes to do a differential." House said and David reached over to hang up the phone.

"So, since we have some time, let's chat." House looked up at David who looked at him with confusion. "You have seen countless doctors and then you come to me, with a gun threatening me and Cuddy. I want to know why. But, I think I know why. So, I am going to go with your wife left you because you became obsessed with your illness or a family member died because doctors ignored them or misdiagnosed them." House knew he was right by the guilty look on David's face. "It's the second one, isn't it?"

"My girlfriend found a lump in her breast when she was doing a routine self-examination; her doctor wrote it off as a benign cyst. By the time he realized that it was actually breast cancer, it was too late, and she died 6 months later."

"How is that my fault? So, she died, and that's very sad. Why did you bring Cuddy and I into your screwed up life?"

"I don't want the same thing to happen to me. Doctors need to pay more attention to their patients and not ignore their concerns or questions."

"Well aren't you such a law abiding citizen." House snapped, "Cut the crap, you are only doing this for your own selfish reasons. This is your own twisted way of making your girlfriends death mean something. Guess what? It doesn't mean anything, it never does." House's cell phone sliced through the conversation, David reached over and pushed the speaker button.

"House is everyone still okay in there?" Thirteen asked with concern.

"Yes, we were having a lovely chat about the weather that you rudely interrupted, thank you."

"Silly me, I thought you needed us for some kind of medical reason, should we call back later?" House inwardly smiled at Thirteen's sarcasm, it feels good to know he trained his team well.

"Rambo has a rash along with fever, joint pain and fatigue."

"House the cops are here, why are you still enabling him?" Foreman asked.

"He still has a gun on me, the cops will coming in will cause that thing to go off, wouldn't want that to happen. Cuddy might complain if she gets blood on her carpet." House deflected.

"No, you just want to satisfy your curiosity no matter what that the stakes are."

"Great Foreman you figured out my motives, now can we get to the medicine?"

"Varicella," Taub chimed in.

"According to the medical history, the patient had chickenpox as a kid, next!"

"When do you read patient histories?" Foreman asked, worried.

"I was bored, what else do you have for me?"

"What about sarcoidosis?" Chase questioned.

"No lung involvement, anything else?"

"Lyme disease, it explains the joint pain, fever, fatigue and rash." Thirteen said with excitement.

"Lyme disease it is, send some Doxycycline down, and go check the patients home for any potential toxins or anything to back up our theory." House commanded.

"I live at 2397 Jackson Street," David added to the conversation. House hung up the phone.

"This is your end game isn't it? That is why you gave my team your home address; you don't plan on going back there."

"Like I said, you either diagnose me and I go to jail for kidnapping and assault. Or you don't diagnose me and I kill the both of you and then myself." All of the sudden House and David heard a small groan from the floor. Cuddy's eyes flicked open one by one, drowsily stared around the room. House limped over and slowly knelt down on the ground beside her. Cuddy grabbed her head in pain and looked at House for an answer.

"House…" Cuddy hoarsely whispered.

"Ssh, don't try to talk, just relax. Can you stand up?" House calmly asked. Cuddy shook her head no, and House wrapped an arm around her slowly guiding her to the couch. David sat back and silently watches the couple, feeling an ounce of shame over what he has done. _House does seem to be an ass to everyone else but her,_ he thought to himself. Cuddy feebly sat down on the couch and House gave her one of the few Vicodin he had left.

"Thanks," Cuddy whispered and dry swallowed the Vicodin.

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"I remember hearing the sirens and…that's it, I guess." Cuddy mumbled.

"Okay, just follow my finger," House then performed a successful neuro scan on Cuddy. Meanwhile, Taub and Thirteen arrived at David's apartment. They were shocked to find everything laid out for them on the kitchen table.

"What do you think of all this?" Thirteen asked while examining the cleaning supplies for potential toxins.

"I think that House is going to get him and Cuddy killed because of his mouth." Taub bluntly stated.

"I don't know House has held his tongue on Cuddy's behalf before, why should this be any different?" Taub scoffed,

"House is House; he is going to continue to enable this sociopath until he gets his diagnosis. I know he cares about Cuddy, but he cares about his puzzles more."

"I haven't found anything toxic or anything that can prove Lyme disease, have you?" Thirteen asked.

"No, usually though when someone lays everything out for you, there is something else they don't want you to look for." Back at Plainsboro, Wilson frantically pounded on Cuddy's door with a vial of doxycycline in his hand. David grabbed his gun and motioned for House to see who it is. House pushed back the blinds to reveal his trembling best friend.

"It's just Wilson, he has your medication," House unlocked the door and snatched the vial out of Wilson's hand.

"House is everyone okay in there?" Wilson asked with worry.

"Everything's great, we were about to hold hands and watch _The Hills _together. Do you want to come in and join us?" House sarcastically remarked. Wilson sneered and shook his head. "Great, I will be seeing you later then,"

"House wait…" Wilson said but was cut off by House slamming the door in his face. House took the vial and put the needle into the hole, filling it about half of the way with the antibiotic.

"Sit down on the couch, this might hurt,"

"No, I want her to take it first," David said and pointed to Cuddy. House looked at David with perplexity.

"Do you think Wilson gave you a sedative?" House inquired.

"It's possible, which is why I want her to take it first." House knew it wasn't a sedative, but he didn't like the fact that Cuddy was their guinea pig.

"House, just give me a little bit of the antibiotic," Cuddy whispered from her position on the couch.

"No, I will take it," House said and began to wrap the tourniquet around his arm.

"You are my doctor, if that really is a sedative then I won't have anyone to treat me," David said.

"Cuddy is half of a decent doctor, I'm sure you guys will manage without me," House said and injected himself with the drug. The trio waited in silence for anything to happen. "Satisfied?" House asked after five minutes.

"Yeah, I have to use the bathroom first." David awkwardly announced and walked into Cuddy's adjoining bathroom.

"Thanks, House, for sticking up for me," Cuddy mumbled and kissed his cheek.

"Wilson's a manipulative teddy bear, I had to make sure he wasn't pulling a fast one on us," House stated.

"A manipulative teddy bear? What does that make you?"

"The manipulative bastard, it's kind of my pet name." Cuddy beamed and kissed him on the lips.

"HEY HOUSE GET IN HERE!" David yelled from inside the bathroom. House got off the couch and limped into the bathroom. "My pee is brown, what does that mean?" House sighed,

"Your kidneys are shutting down, I was wrong again."

**A/N 2: I know I ended with another symptom last time, but they are good cliffhangers. Anyone have any idea of what he has? If you guess correctly you get to pick a name for any upcoming character. The disease will be revealed soon, but reviews are always appreciated. **


	22. This Ends Now

**A/N: I have been terrible at updating frequently, school has consumed me lately. I am thinking that I want to stop at chapter thirty? Just an idea, but we will see how the story goes. I apologize for any OOC-ness on House's part in this chapter.**

**Chapter Twenty Two- This Ends Now**

"_HEY HOUSE GET IN HERE!" David yelled from inside the bathroom. House got off the couch and limped into the bathroom. "My pee is brown, what does that mean?" House sighed,_

_ "Your kidneys are shutting down, I was wrong again." _

"Is it serious?" David asked with panic. House and David stepped out of Cuddy's bathroom and sat down on the nearest chair.

"We need to call the cops for a portable dialysis machine or your kidney's are going to be fried the time I figure out what's wrong with you." House said. David grabbed House and yanked him towards the phone.

"What is the extension for the nurse's station?" House asked Cuddy.

"20243" Cuddy responded. David dialed and Captain Baker picked up on the other end.

"This is Captain Baker speaking, what is going on in there?"

"We need a portable dialysis machine brought into Dr. Cuddy's office; the patient is inching towards renal failure." House answered.

"I can't just keep you drugs, hoping Dr. House comes up with the right diagnosis eventually. We cops can't wait around for you guys all day; we have other calls to respond to. I am sorry, but the answer is no." House saw David go red with anger.

"NO! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TELLING ME NO? DID YOU FORGET I HAD TWO HOSTAGES AND A GUN?" David screamed into the phone. Outside Cuddy's office, Wilson could tell this situation was about to get totally out of control. He resumed pacing back and forth silently pleading for House and Cuddy's safe return out of the clutches of this sociopath. Captain Baker knew he had to do something to negotiate with David or he would have two dead doctors on his hands.

"Okay, Mr. Croft, just calm down. How about we give Dr. House the portable dialysis machine in exchange for Dr. Cuddy?"

"Are you crazy? Dr. Cuddy is the only leverage I have with you guys. Dr. House won't diagnose me without the threat of harm against Dr. Cuddy."

"Yes, I will," House interrupted. Cuddy looked at him with uncertainty, was House trying to trick David or was he really just that obsessed over the answer?

"Mr. Croft, I will call back in five minutes and I expect an answer. Either you exchange Dr. Cuddy for the machine or you guys stay in there with no medicine or machines. It is your choice." David angrily slammed the phone down and faced House and Cuddy.

"You two better decide what you want otherwise I am going to kill her before the cops have a chance to call back." David said and sat down in Cuddy's chair.

"House what the hell do you think you are doing?" Cuddy asked with venom in her voice.

"Cuddy you need to get out of here, I can handle it on my own."

"Like hell you can, this isn't about me anymore; this is about finding your last piece of the puzzle. Without anymore meds David can't last much longer before progressing into full blown renal failure, and you can't let that happen because then it's over. House, are you really willing to trade me for a damn dialysis machine?" Cuddy was deeply trying to cover up the hurt she felt, but House knew her too well.

"Cuddy, stop being so emotional; the dialysis machine will buy us more time so I can save the patient, that's it. This has nothing to do with us; if anything I am giving you your ticket out of this mess."

"Fine, I will go, only if you promise me you will stop enabling him." House sighed; Cuddy knows just how to back him into a corner.

"I am going to do whatever I have to, to get the diagnosis. Cuddy, you need to leave." Cuddy shook her head; there was nothing else to be said. House obviously had his mind made up and Cuddy knew that she shouldn't be wasting precious time arguing over an already decided matter. As pissed as Cuddy was with House for kicking her out, she kissed House on the cheek and sauntered out of her own office.

"Wow, you have some major girlfriend issues, man." David mumbled.

"I have some major fiancé issues dude," House retorted.

"Before I came here, I did some research on you, are you really obsessed as they you are?" David asked.

"Obsessed? I like to think of myself as dedicated, words can hurt you know."

"Is that why you sent Dr. Cuddy out, because of your dedication?"

"I told Cuddy to leave because I didn't want your gun to accidently go off into her. Silly me, I thought I was being a good fiancé."

"You are an ass," David said between a yawn. That yawn sparked an idea inside of House.

"Why did you yawn? We are having an interesting conversation so you aren't bored, I didn't yawn so it couldn't be a mirror neuron reaction, and it's two in the afternoon so you can't be tired." House thought out loud while tapping his cane on the carpet.

"Fatigue is listed in my chart as a symptom, why are you so fixated on me yawning?" House scoffed,

"Being tired is a lame symptom, yawning could be a vassal vagal or a heart issue." House mused. "Hand me your file," David stood up from the chair and grabbed the medical records off of Cuddy's desk. House took the file and skimmed it.

"You are on an SSRI, Fluoxetine, the more familiar name to you is Prozac. Depression added in with all of your other symptoms points to lupus. I can't believe it, it is finally lupus." House said with a minuscule grin on his face.

"How do you know you are right this time?"

"I don't, the only thing we could do is run an ANA, but I left it in my other pants."

"So, what do we do?"

"Lupus is not curable, but you can manage the symptoms. So, are you going to give yourself up or climb through Cuddy's window and hope the bulls don't catch you?" David didn't get a chance to react, the phone came to life.

"Can we bring in the dialysis machine?" Captain Baker's voice echoed through the room. House gestured at David to answer the question.

"No, I am coming out, Dr. House figured out I have lupus." David said defiantly. Everyone in the nurse's station stopped and looked at the phone in awe.

"Okay, come out with your hands up and have Dr. House bring your gun." Captain Baker said.

"Fine, we will be out soon," David hung up the phone.

"Well, let's get this over with, give me your gun." David slapped the gun down in House's hand and opened Cuddy's office door. Immediately, a swarm of cops rallied around David and House, arresting David and taking the gun from House. Wilson pushed his way through and hugged House.

"Wilson, what the hell are you doing?" House asked, refusing to put his arms around Wilson. Wilson pulled apart from House and recomposed himself.

"Nothing, I am happy that you are okay. What did the patient have?"

"Wacko has lupus. Where is Cuddy?"

"Cuddy wasn't feeling well, so I let her nap in my office." House left without a word and headed straight towards Wilson's office. House smiled to himself, a sleeping Cuddy looked adorable. Cuddy's raven curls streaked across her face, but House could tell she was worried. House crept over to Wilson's couch and gently shook Cuddy awake. Cuddy looked disoriented for a minute, but realized she was looking at House outside of her office and beamed.

"Hey," House said and wiped a stray curl out of Cuddy's face. Cuddy kissed House on the lips and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"What did he have," Cuddy mumbled into House's neck.

"Lupus," House whispered, and broke out of the hug, "Wilson said you weren't feeling well?"

"My stomach and back hurt, so Wilson gave me his couch to lie down for a few hours."

"How long have you been in pain Cuddy?"

"It started about an hour ago, I think."

"Right after you left your office, House I am scared to check." House could tell how terrified Cuddy was.

"Cuddy, we need to go check it out, as a doctor you know what your symptoms add up to."

"I know, I just don't want to think about it," House nodded empathetically and they lifted themselves off of the couch. Together, House and Cuddy sneak past the police and onto the elevator. Cuddy was trying to block out the thoughts swirling in her head and the pain radiating through her body. The elevator doors opened, Cuddy and House walked into the waiting room of the OB/GYN wing, waiting for Dr. Douglas to come and see them.

"How bad is the pain?"

"I am the one who is supposed to ask you that," Cuddy felt a tear roll down her cheek.

"Cuddy, you know this happens when stressed is involved. We will deal with this." House wiped the tear from Cuddy's cheek.

"Lisa Cuddy," a nurse called from the door. House and Cuddy stood up and followed the nurse into an empty exam room. The nurse took her blood and gave her a gown to change into. Twenty minutes later, Dr. Douglas burst into the room. Cuddy put her feet on the stirrups and bit her lip in anticipation. Dr. Douglas completed the pelvic exam and looked up at House and Cuddy with a grim expression on his face.

"I am sorry Dr. Cuddy you had a miscarriage."

**A/N 2: I know this looks bad but, I did it for a good reason, I promise. By the way since it was lupus, 6cbrillhante and Wuthering get to name Wilson's twin boys. Congratulations! Please read and review, they are like candy or new House episodes to me. Thanks!**


	23. Collapse

**A/N: I am becoming repetitive with these notes, but thank you for all the reviews. I am trying to get a new chapter up before "Bombshells", I have a feeling it's going to be great! In this chapter, House is going to be OOC, because I like him that way sometimes. Anyway, enjoy chapter twenty three.**

**Chapter Twenty Three- Collapse**

_"I'm sorry Dr. Cuddy, you had a miscarriage." _Dr. Douglas mumbled and backed out of the room. House glanced to Cuddy for some sign of emotion, but found she was simply staring off into space.

"Cuddy, what do you want to do?" House asked. Cuddy tore her eyes away from the wall and looked at House.

"I had a miscarriage; I didn't know I was pregnant and I had a miscarriage." Cuddy whispered.

"I know, Cuddy, I am sorry." Cuddy nodded and burst into tears. House immediately limped over to the exam table and wrapped his arms around her. Cuddy grabbed House's shirt and sobbed relentlessly into his chest. "Sh…" House whispered and rubbed her back soothingly.

"It's…not…fair…" Cuddy said between cries.

"I know Cuddles, life is never fair." A knock at the exam room door interrupted House and Cuddy's moment. House released his hold around Cuddy and she wiped her eyes. Dr. Douglas strolled in with a grim expression etched into his features.

"I am sorry to say that you will need a D and C to remove the left over tissue from the fetus. We can get you in right away." Cuddy took a shaky breath before responding.

"Will I need to stay overnight?"

"Yes, just as a formality, but we promise to discharge you as early as possible tomorrow."

"Okay, are we going to do this in here?"

"No we are having an operating room prepared for you. As you know, the procedure lasts only about 15 to 20 minutes with local anesthesia. You will have some mild bleeding and cramping for a few days after the procedure, but we will give you some pain killers to manage. Do you two have any further questions?" Cuddy looked over to House, who shook his head. "Alright, a nurse will bring you a consent form and then we will bring you down to the OR." Dr. Douglas glanced from House to Cuddy and then left the room.

Cuddy felt tears come up again, but made no attempt to hide them. House was clueless as to what to do; usually it was him who needed Cuddy, not the other way around. He didn't want to say some insensitive comment and push her away, but he didn't want to hold her hand and tell her everything was going to be just fine. House knew he would just be telling her empty words he didn't even believe in, but at the same time, he had to say something reassuring. _Damn, times like these I wish I was Wilson. What would he say? Crap, I have got to start paying attention when Wilson is being nice to people._

Luckily, House was saved by a nurse coming in with a consent form. Cuddy signed it and together her and House walked down to the operating room.

"Do you want me to come in with you?" House asked Cuddy who nodded and wiped her eyes once more. Cuddy was put onto a gurney and wheeled into the operating room with House following close behind. Cuddy was put under right away and the D&C was completed within fifteen minutes. While waiting for Cuddy to wake up, House got a call from Wilson.

"House, where have you and Cuddy been?"

"Come up to the OB floor," House stated and hung up the phone. Wilson's thoughts instantly went to worst case scenario. House sounded distraught over the phone and he assumed that whatever it was, it had to do with Cuddy.

Wilson came off the elevator and began searching for Cuddy's room. Through the glass, Wilson saw House holding a passed out Cuddy's hand. He felt bad for interrupting a private moment between the couple, but his curiosity got the better of him. Wilson knocked on the glass and House motioned for him to come inside.

"What happened?"

"Cuddy had a miscarriage, which needed a D&C. Hopefully she will come out of the anesthesia soon." Wilson took a moment to digest this new information. An hour ago, he was just happy that his two best friends were alive and now, they had just lost a baby.

"Do you think that crazy patient caused this?"

"I certainly didn't help matters, but given Cuddy's history I can't say for sure."

"Are you going to stay overnight with her?" House shrugged,

"It depends on what Cuddy wants me to do."

"I have to say, I am really impressed right now."

"Why, is it because I am actually trying to be nice?"

"Yes, this is new for me, sorry if it takes a few minutes to adjust." House was thankful that Wilson was trying to lighten the mood; this whole day has been hell for him. "I am going to go home; do you need anything before I leave?"

"The nanny's daughter has a dance recital tonight at seven; could you make sure Emma isn't going to be alone? I don't know how long Cuddy will want me to stay here with her." Wilson was surprised at this sudden change in House, to bad Cuddy isn't awake to see it.

"No problem, should Emma stay the night at my place?"

"I don't think so; I hope Cuddy will want the night to herself. If not, I will call you. You know where all the spawn's crap is right?"

"I think I can handle it, goodnight House."

"Goodnight Wilson."

An hour later, House was in the middle of eating Cuddy's complimentary meal when he heard a grunt come from the bed. Cuddy's eyes fluttered open and frowned.

"You okay?" House nervously asked from the chair beside her bed. Cuddy shook her head and pointed to her stomach. "Do you want me to increase your pain meds?"

"Please," Cuddy whispered. House did so and gave the remainder of the food to Cuddy. "I'm not hungry." House sighed and polished off what was left of the food. House went to the bathroom and came back to a silently crying Cuddy. House, as usual, didn't know how to handle his fiancé crying. He felt like he was walking on glass with Cuddy, one wrong word and it will all shatter.

"Cuddy, it's not your fault, you know that." Cuddy nodded, but the waterworks continued. "There was no way you could have known that you were pregnant. I didn't even pick up on it, and I am a keen observer."

"I know, but that doesn't make it hurt any less." Finally, after twenty years, House is rendered speechless. _What the hell should I say back? 'Don't worry Cuddy, we can always try again?' What if she doesn't want to try again after this? Shit, where is Wilson? WWWD? (What would Wilson do?) Maybe I should distract her with a funny story. Yeah, let's go with that one._

"Do you want to hear about the time Wilson proposed to me?" Cuddy shot him a confused look, but nodded nonetheless. "Wilson and I had just moved into our new apartment," Cuddy squinted his eyes at him, "yeah sorry I stole your precious condo. Anyway, Wilson ran across a hot neighbor, Nora, and Wilson being Wilson, convinced her that we were gay. Me being me, I intervened and told her we were straight. She didn't believe me, I think it had something to do with the _Chorus Line _poster and me complimenting Nora on her shoes." Cuddy managed to smirk at that one, House was always trying to screw with people.

"I'm not done yet, Wilson and I kept doing things to convince her that we were not a gay couple, but she wasn't buying it. Finally, I take Nora out to dinner to talk about Wilson, the bastard shows up and proposed to me in front of the whole restaurant." Cuddy's deep throaty laugh echoed the hospital room. _Yes I did it! I am not half bad at this cheering up stuff!_

"Did you say yes?"

"Stop interrupting me woman, Nora realized Wilson and I needed to discuss our 'relationship' and she left. In the end, Nora came to the conclusion that we were both assholes and refused to talk to either of us." The twinkle in Cuddy's eye, that House loved so much, was back. It worked!

"Thank you for cheering me up. Nice to know I am not the only woman you have unsuccessfully wooed."

"Please Cuddy; you have always been eating out of the palm of my hand."

"Don't be ridiculous House, I know how to get what I want." House rolled his eyes at Cuddy.

"Now that you are all happy again, do I have to spend the night?"

"No, I am sure Emma misses you."

"Right, you are just afraid you are going to jump me during the night."

"Please, you are the one who would jump me." House smirked and kissed Cuddy's forehead. As happy as he was to be bantering with Cuddy, he was exhausted and wanted to go home.

"Night Cuddy, sweet dreams of me tonight," House said and grabbed his cane from the wall.

"Goodnight House," House left and ten minutes later arrived in his own home. He relieved the nanny early and explained the situation to her. Marina understood, and left House to deal with Emma. Emma looked around for Cuddy, but got teary eyed when she couldn't find her.

"Dada, Mama?" Emma asked. _How do I explain to a 17 month that her mother lost a baby? Well, at least she won't understand or remember what I tell her later. _

"Mom is sick and needed to stay overnight at the hospital." House could see Emma not comprehending a word of this, only understanding that her mom wasn't there. "I know you don't get it kid, but do you want dinner?"

"Roni!" Emma shouted, her new favorite food is now macaroni and cheese.

"Fine, your mom will kill me if I don't add something healthy in there, how about macaroni and carrots?" House dug around in the cabinets and pulled out a Gerber soft carrots can.

"Hows!" Emma scrunched her eyebrows and pouted.

"Your mom is the devil for teaching you that. What do you want instead, Emma?"

"Nanas," Emma said and tried to reach the counter where the bananas were.

"You are pretty smart for a baby," House mumbled and began preparing Emma's dinner. After dinner, House forced Emma to take a bath, got into semi-matching pajamas and put her down to sleep. All the while, House was thinking about his proposition to Cuddy tomorrow. _Will Cuddy like it? Is it too soon? _House's thoughts ate away at him as he tried to go to battle his insomnia. The next morning, House gave Emma breakfast and waited for the nanny to arrive. At ten o'clock, Marina took Emma off his hands and House departed for the hospital. Wilson intercepted him the second House stepped into the lobby.

"Where have you been? Cuddy's been asking for you since eight o'clock."

"Cuddy should know that the spawn watcher doesn't usually come until ten."

"She is probably just anxious to see my handsome face."

"Yes, House that is it. Seriously though, discharge your fiancé already; I think the nurses are ready to stage a coup." House left Wilson and headed to the OB/GYN floor. He limped over to Cuddy's room and knocked on the glass. Cuddy's face lightened up and she frantically motioned for him to come inside.

"Wilson told me that the nurses are ready to strangle you."

"I am the Dean of Medicine; I think I can discharge myself."

"No, but I am sure you will be able to leave once Douglas gets up here."

"Is Emma okay? Was she worried last night?"

"Cuddy, she is one. I told her that you were sick and needed to stay at the hospital overnight. Emma obviously didn't understand, but she was fine after we watched _The Lion King_ three times last night."

"Yeah that seems to be her new favorite thing. You didn't offer her carrots did you?"

"I plead the fifth. Your daughter screamed 'hows' at me when I showed her the carrots." Cuddy smiled, Emma was more like her than she wanted to admit.

"I don't know why she is so against carrots. Anyway, do you know when I can get out of here?"

"No, but I did want to talk to you about something before you get discharged."

"What is it House?"

**A/N 2: This is all I have for now. What do you think House's proposition was for Cuddy? This chapter is double what I usually do, so I expect double the reviews. Just kidding, but please read and review or no new chapter. *Cue evil laugh* By the way, Wuthering, I need a name for one of Wilson's twin boys. If not, I have a name on reserve. Stay tuned for chapter twenty four. **


	24. Trying To Move On

**A/N: I am so sorry; it has been three weeks since you guys have seen a new chapter but honestly, I kind of lost motivation to write after "Bombshells". House is going to OOC in this chapter because after the last few episodes I need Huddy and I need fluff!**

**Chapter Twenty Four- Trying To Move On**

_"No, but I did want to talk to you about something before you get discharged."_

_ "What is it House?" _Cuddy asked House expectantly. House opened his mouth, but was interrupted by Dr. Douglas coming into the room.

"Hello Dr. Cuddy, how are you feeling this morning?"

"A little sore still, but the pain is minimal compared to yesterday." Douglas nodded sympathetically and checked her vitals.

"Okay, you are all set; here are your discharge forms." Douglas handed Cuddy a set of forms which she quickly scrawled her signature on. Douglas quickly exited the room leaving House and Cuddy alone.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Cuddy inquired. House felt his palms sweat and his heart race. _This isn't the right time, I can't do this here._

"I was wondering if we needed a forklift to get your rotundas ass out of here," House snarked. _House must be proposing something huge, to deflect like this. _

"I wouldn't want to waste the hospitals budget on a forklift for my ass. Although I might need some help, my stomach still hurts a little." Cuddy slowly stood up, wincing in pain. House grabbed her arm and they slowly shuffled their way into the bathroom so Cuddy could change. Twenty minutes later, House and Cuddy exited the hospital, brushing by all the wide-eyed co-workers. On the drive home, the pair sat into silence each consumed in their own thoughts.

_Do I really want to do this? What if Cuddy reacts the wrong way? What if it doesn't work out? What then? _All of these questions were floating around in House's head, none of which he had an answer to. This wasn't him; he wasn't the guy to take risks with his personal life. House didn't know if he could handle rejection when it came to Cuddy.

_Why is House so nervous? House obviously wants to talk to me about something important, that is why he is deflecting. I wish he wouldn't analyze things to damn much, but that's who he is. That is who I love. _

House pulled into the driveway and assisted Cuddy in walking into their home. Emma saw her mom and squirmed in Marina's arms.

"MAMA! MAMA!" Emma screeched, and made a beeline towards Cuddy.

"Hi sweetie," Cuddy tried to bend down to pick up Emma but the stabbing in her abdomen was to strong. Emma raised her hands above her head signaling to Cuddy to pick her up. House could see the tears building up in Cuddy's eyes when she realized she couldn't pick up her little girl. House reached down and scooped Emma up, swinging her high in the air. Emma's laugh echoed throughout the house, with Cuddy showing a miniscule grin.

"Thank you Marina for coming so early this morning, you can take the rest of the day off." Marina took the money Cuddy offered and subsequently left.

"Greg, I am going to go lay down," Cuddy says in a monotone voice, "can you help me to the bedroom?" House was surprised by the lifelessness in Cuddy's tone. House knew Cuddy was trying to put on a brave front for Emma, but eventually the mask would have to come off. House knew Cuddy was stubborn and strong by default; he didn't want Cuddy to bury her feelings to pretend everything is fine when they obviously need to work through what happened.

"Lisa, are you sure you are okay?" Cuddy could feel her instinctual stubbornness rise up in her, the defenses refusing to crumble.

"I am fine, I just feel tired and I want to lie down. Can you please help me to the bedroom?" Cuddy said a little more forcefully, inwardly cursing herself for not wanting to let her guard down. House wrapped an arm around Cuddy and they leisurely sauntered their way into the master bedroom. House gently laid Cuddy onto the bed, and took a Vicodin out of his pocket.

"Don't be afraid to take this if the pain becomes unbearable." House turned off the lights and shut the door behind him. After House got Emma down for a nap an hour later, he dialed Wilson.

"How are things going over there?" Wilson nervously asked.

"Fantastic, in fact, Cuddy suggested we have wild sex all day." House snapped.

"When do you want me to come over?"

"Now, bring lunch," House hung up the phone and paced around the living room. _I want her to talk about the miscarriage, but I don't want to force her to. Maybe Wilson will use his boyish charms to get Cuddy to give me some insight into what she is feeling. Why do I care about this that much? Do I care about her or the puzzle I am trying to solve? _House's thoughts were broken up by the sound of Wilson knocking at the door. House opened the door and snatched the food out of Wilson's hands.

"Don't you have a key?" House asked.

"No, the one under the flowerpot isn't there anymore." Wilson responded. Wilson could tell how anxious House was by the heightened worry lines in his face.

"How is Cuddy really handling the miscarriage?" House shrugged and bit into his eggroll.

"What do you mean you don't know? Have you talked to her at all about it?"

"Li-Cuddy won't talk to me about it, she is too damn stubborn."

"What have you been doing to try and get her to talk?"

"Nothing really, I don't know how to handle a conversation like that. I am afraid I will screw it up and say the wrong thing."

"House, don't be an idiot. Let her talk, don't say any snide comments, just sit there and listen to whatever she has to say."

"What if I can't do that? What happens then?" Wilson felt sorry for House; he knew that House was trying really hard to help Cuddy get through this road block.

"House, I know you can do it. You diagnose cases that no doctor can solve, without getting to know the patient. Like I said, all you have to do is listen to Cuddy and let her cry on your shoulder if necessary." Cuddy came out into living room, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Hey Wilson," Cuddy mumbled.

"Hi Cuddy, how are you feeling?"

"Better after my nap, I think the Vicodin also helped too. House, I am going to need some for work tomorrow." Wilson and House glanced over at each other with the same worried expression.

"Cuddy don't you think you should be taking it easy? You just got out of the hospital today." Wilson said with concern. Cuddy could feel her stubbornness and pride come to life inside her.

"Wilson, I can take care of myself, I am a doctor too." Cuddy snapped. Wilson's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Emma filled the awkward silence by screaming in her bedroom.

"I'll get it," Wilson jumped off the couch and sprinted towards the nursery.

"Wow, you certainly bitched out Wilson. Good job Cuddles!" A melancholy expression overtook Cuddy's face and she fell back into the couch cushions.

"Damn, I shouldn't have done that, Wilson was only trying to help."

"Do not worry about it Cuddlemuffin, I yell at Wilson all the time for no reason. In a few seconds, he will return with Emma, apologize to for being too overbearing, and then find an excuse to leave." The nursery door swung open and Wilson, with Emma balancing on his hips, joined House and Cuddy back in the living room. Wilson handed Emma over to Cuddy so she could sit on her lap.

"I'm sorry Cuddy about before; it's in my DNA to care about people too much." House smirked and shot Cuddy an "I told you so" look. Cuddy's face visibly softened,

"Wilson, I am really sorry too, I know you are just trying to help and I really appreciate it. I guess I am a little too stubborn for my own good, you would know all about that, wouldn't you House?" House smirk evaporated, his face contorting into a scowl.

"I have no idea what you are talking about Cuddy; House is the most laid back person I know, he always admits when he is wrong." Wilson said, his voice marred with sarcasm. House glared at Wilson,

"Don't you think you have overstayed your welcome? Cuddy and I are about to get frisky and it would be weird if you were around." Wilson silently translated that Housian phrase into a somewhat nicer sounding question. "Would you mind leaving? My fiancé and I are about to talk about something very important." Cuddy smacked House on the arm,

"House, don't be rude, he is the only friend you have." Wilson looked over at House and stuck his tongue at him, much to the amusement of Emma.

"Yeah, House, don't be rude, I am the only friend you will _ever _have. Although, my lunch break was over about a half an hour ago and I have a board meeting at two, so I should be heading back. Feel better Cuddy and take care of her House." The front door closing was House's signal to yell at Cuddy.

"Are you really going back to work tomorrow?" House asked. Emma squirmed in Cuddy's lap, leading Cuddy to gently put Emma on the floor. Emma slowly walked over to the toy chest, reached in and grabbed a stuffed frog. Once Cuddy was sure Emma was satisfied, she turned back to House with a sterner look on her face.

"Actually, I was, but now I realize that Wilson was right. Plus, it would be nice to spend a few days here with Emma, give the nanny a break for a bit."

"Lisa, you still can barely bend over. Let Marina help you tomorrow, or better yet, let me take off work and help you."

"I think Marina will be able to help me just fine, stop taking advantage of your boss." House saw the luminescent light come back into Cuddy's eyes for the first time since the miscarriage. That gave House the motivation to go through with his offer.

"What do you think about starting fertility meds?"

**A/N 2: Okay my readers, that is all for right now. Do you think Cuddy will like House's proposal or dislike it? Remember, reviews always help with the writing process! Thank you for reading and may the Huddy God be with us all as the House season comes to a close. **


	25. Rejection and Deflection

**A/N: I am just going to say my usual schpeel, thank you for all your reviews! They always seem to make my day a little brighter. This chapter is again, going to be a little fluffy and OOC, but my Huddy heart is still broken. Please enjoy chapter twenty five.**

**Chapter Twenty Five- Rejection and Deflection**

"_What do you think about starting fertility meds?" _ Cuddy stared wide-eyed at House for a few seconds. That was the last question she thought House would ask her. Excitement bubbled up inside her all the same. House was finally doing something solely to benefit _them, _not just _him. _The fact that House wants to try to have another child with her is amazing, but is she ready to go through with that disappointment again?

_Fertility meds rarely ever work the first time through, and I just had a miscarriage. Could I really handle the failure? Sure the payoff is great, but do the ends justify the means right now? No, they don't. _House saw Cuddy debating his proposition in her head, while he was waiting for an answer he stole a glance at Emma who was playing with her toys on the floor, blissfully unaware of what is going on with her parents.

"House…Greg, I really appreciate your offer, but for right now I am going to have to decline." Cuddy said softly, but with all the conviction she could muster. "I love the fact that we could have another baby together, and I do want to, but I just had a miscarriage." Cuddy reached out to caress House's cheek, internally begging him to understand. House did, he knew that fertility was something Cuddy struggled with even before they got together.

That didn't soften the blow of Cuddy's rejection. All his life, House has faced the rejection of his father, telling him what a worthless human being he would turn out to be. Now it was Cuddy.

"Good, I didn't want to become another victim of your biological clock anyway." Cuddy was stunned by the bitterness in House's tone. What the hell happened? House went from the nicest thing he has ever done for Cuddy to the nastiest thing he has ever said to her. House knew exactly what buttons to push when it came to Cuddy. Cuddy looked down at Emma, willing herself not to cry or snap back at House. Cuddy adamantly refused to fight with him in front of their daughter, because fighting with House either ended up in makeup sex or one of them swearing and screaming. Both of those options are not something a one year old needs to see.

"Why don't you see if Wilson is free tonight?" Cuddy whispered and left the room. House winced when he heard their bedroom door slam shut.

_Damn it. Why the hell did I have to say the one thing that hurts Cuddy the most? _House's brain screamed at him to go and apologize to Cuddy, but it was clear to him that he was the last person she wanted to see right now. House needed to get out of here, but Cuddy couldn't take care of Emma by herself. Emma looked up from her toys to rub her eyes. House silently sent a prayer to Ra or whoever was up there and scooped Emma up.

"DADA NO!" Emma yelled and pounded her little chubby fists on House's chest.

"Come on squirt it's time for your nap." Emma tried to squirm out of House's grasp to no avail. House limped into the nursery and gently put Emma down in her crib. House shut off the light and closed the door slowly making his way to the master bedroom. The door to his own bedroom was like a threat to House. "Go on, knock, but you won't like what is on the other side" it said. House rapped on the wooden frame.

"What?" Cuddy's voice, thick with tears, answered back to him.

"Emma is down for a nap, I'm going out," _Because it's too painful to be here after what I said to you. _The unspoken thought echoed inside House's head.

Cuddy didn't come out of the bedroom until she heard the sound of House's motorcycle slowly fade away, like smoke in a fire.

"Wilson, open up!" House relentlessly pounded on his best friend's house. Kim answered the door, her large pregnant belly protruding out. "I asked for Wilson, bimbo."

"Wilson is in the shower, gimp. Let me guess Cuddy kicked your sorry ass out?"

"Cuddy didn't kick me out, per se, I left voluntarily." Kim glared at House and opened the door wider, letting him come in.

"I would offer you a drink, but drinks are for guests, not annoying nuisances who never leave." House smirked at Kim's snarkiness. _No wonder Wilson fell in love with her; she is the female version of me!_

"I'll take a scotch; feel free to direct your bitchiness at Wilson. It's not my fault he chooses to be friends with me." Kim rolled her eyes, but went to the kitchen to make House's drink. Wilson came down from the shower a few minutes later, surprised to see his best friend sitting on his couch.

"House what can I do for you this lovely afternoon?" Kim came into the living room to hand House his drink. Kim sat down next to Wilson who wrapped his arm around her.

"Sorry, Boobs McGee, you are fun to stare at, but you can't handle this conversation." House snarked at Kim, who anxiously looked to Wilson for guidance. Wilson rolled his eyes at House, and signaled for Kim to go upstairs. Kim slowly got up and walked by House, "accidently" smacking him in the arm.

"OW! Wilson, control your woman, she almost made me spill my drink."

"Why are you here House? I thought you were taking care of Cuddy."

"Yeah well, I said something I shouldn't have and Cuddy kind of kicked me out." Wilson audibly sighed, whatever it was must have been bad, Cuddy isn't the kind of person to get mad over a little comment. On the other hand, House knew precisely what to say to Cuddy to piss her off.

"What did you say to her that she got so mad?"

"It doesn't matter, it will be fine, all I need to do is hide out here for a little bit, and she will forgive me eventually."

"House quit deflecting, what the hell did you say to her?"

"I knew she was having a hard time with the miscarriage, so I offered to start her on fertility meds," House paused after a smile appeared on Wilsons face. "Oh stop smiling; you are going to want to kill me in a few minutes anyway. Where was I? Oh yeah, so she declined saying she wanted to wait a little until she was fully ready."

"Okay so, what, I don't get it."

"That's because I am not done with the story Jimmy, I was pausing for dramatic effect. After she told me that IsaidthatIdidn'." House finished in all one breath. Wilson took a second to sort through what House just said. House felt Wilson smack him upside the head a second later. "OW! Wilson, I am very sensitive you know!"

"Apparently you are very insensitive either you idiot! I'm surprised Cuddy didn't kill you and hide you in the basement! How could you be so damn stupid?"

"I…don't…know, I didn't mean to say it, it kind of just slipped out."

"Go apologize then! Cuddy isn't unreasonable, she will forgive you. Obviously you screwed up, now you need to go get it right. Seriously, get out of here and go make up with the only person you have ever loved." House sagged his shoulders as he set his empty scotch down on the coffee table. Wilson shook his head as he heard House's motorcycle tear down the street.

Within an hour House returned to his home with a salmon colored rose in his hand. House cautiously knocked on his bedroom door, and this time Cuddy answered it.

"What do you want?" Cuddy bit out. House traced the tracks of Cuddy's tears with his eyes feeling like crap for putting them there.

"I wanted to say I am so sorry and to give you this." House handed Cuddy the salmon colored rose which she accepted hesitantly.

"Why did you say it?" Cuddy whispered, not entirely accepting his apology. House didn't have an answer for that question, none that she would like anyway.

"Honestly, I don't know. I saw your rejection as my father telling me what a worthless SOB I am." Cuddy felt so bad for House, he looks like a puppy that has been kicked too many times.

"Greg, I didn't reject you. I just can't do the meds right now. It has nothing to do with you; I just don't want my body to go through the fertility drugs so soon after the miscarriage." House nodded sympathetically, from a medical standpoint he could see where Cuddy was coming from.

"So what you are saying is there could be a second Cuddy-House in the future?"

"You can bet on it, but for now let's just worry about practicing for one." House's face lit up, and he wagged his eyebrows mischievously.

"I am great at practicing!" House exclaimed with child-like enthusiasm.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Cuddy asked and grabbed his shirt, pulling him into their bedroom.

**THE END.**

**A/N 2: That is the end of **_**Prepare for Complications, **_**I hope you liked it! I have a third story planned, but I won't worry about it if no one is interested. Please read/review and let me know if you want the next story. Thanks for every single kind review related to this story and don't be afraid to PM me with any questions or concerns. **


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